


Even Skeletons Have Skeletons in Their Closet

by Jennisms



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alcohol, Angst, Drama, Family Issues, Gen, Gender neutral pronouns for reader, Police Officer Reader, Racism, Reader co-workers are racist, Reader-Insert, Swearing, Unintentional Kidnapping, Working title, justice soul reader, looking for new title, more characters will be added as they appear - Freeform, reader's gender is whatever you want it to be, skeletal shenanigans, the rating may change as the story continues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2020-12-14 23:10:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 29,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jennisms/pseuds/Jennisms
Summary: You're a well-meaning police officer in a new town where an inconspicuous group of skeletons just so happen to be living. But a machine capable of bringing alternate skeletons from one AU to another is bound to cause problems.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady](https://archiveofourown.org/works/9816140) by [Tyrant_Tortoise](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tyrant_Tortoise/pseuds/Tyrant_Tortoise). 
**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by and basically hijacks the backstory from Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady by Tyrant_Tortoise. You can find them on AO3 and on tumblr.
> 
> SSLL is one of my favorite fanfics period and everyone who loves Undertale and smooching skeletons should read it!!
> 
> Also, the title of this fanfic may change since I haven't really thought of a good one.

This was going to be a new start for you.

It had been a week since you'd moved to this town and you were finally getting into the swing of things. You'd fully moved your belongings into your new apartment and you were finally building a rapport with your co-workers at the station. They were all men, most of them older than you, and while things were awkward and they tended to treat you with a little condescension now and again, it was nothing you couldn't handle.

And their locker room and break room were both pretty decent, even if the coffee they offered you was terrible.

For the most part you only passingly paid attention to the other officers as they spoke about not much in particular-

“-I mean, I can't even take my kids to the park without it being swamped with monsters you know?” The older mustachioed officer takes another long swig of his coffee before continuing. “It's only been two years since they crawled outta the underground and now they’re everywhere.”

Your passing interest in this man's meandering diatribe suddenly became intense.

The younger cop nods approvingly. “I know! My wife doesn't even feel safe going to the supermarket.”

You can hear your heart hammering in your hears. You take a sip of the coffee to distract you, but you barely register the taste and only feel the heat as it seems to make the burning in your chest worse.

“You probably didn't have to deal with the monsters back in your old town, right?” The older officer asked. “Don't let yourself be intimidated by them. They're ugly but nothing we can't handle, you know?” His eyes move to you and he freezes.

For a moment you weren't sure why he looked so shocked but then you recognized the look of pure disgust on your face. You take a quick breath before replying in the steadiest voice you can manage. “No. I don't think I do.”

You can't stomach any more of this, so you move to the sink and promptly dump the rest of the shitty coffee down the drain before leaving your two fellow officers to stare at your back as you go.

When it was finally time to go home, you decided to leave the station without changing in the locker rooms. You couldn't stand being in that place for another minute. So much for a new start. It was funny how a single conversation could sour an entire week of cautious optimism. You needed to step away from that and get your priorities in order. Your fellow officers might be racist trash, but you can't exactly let your feelings be known. You still have to work with these people. You'd need to steel yourself to their casual cruelty and hope that said cruelty was limited to the break room.

You let out a sigh, your breath misting in front of your face. You stood by your car, fishing around for your car keys. You shivered at the pervasive chill that soothed your skin and seemed to push away the bitter anger burning in your chest.

Maybe you should get a drink on the way home.

You remembered seeing a bar on the way, it was a monster bar, but why not?

It wasn't long until you stood in front of the cozy-looking bar. The place radiated with light, warmth, and laughter. The moment you stepped inside the mood seemed to change drastically. It was subtle at first, the monsters closest to the door went suddenly quiet and rigid at the sight of you. _ Maybe you should have changed out of your uniform after all. _ You tried to look relaxed and smile as you approach the bar.

Behind the bar is a monster, who seems to be entirely made of flames. Normally, you might be fascinated by the sight, but his rigid posture and unblinking gaze on you was more of a concern. Even the flames sparking from his body seemed to be agitated.

_ You absently wonder if this isn't the first time a human cop walked into their bar and whether they came to drink or- _

“.........Is there..... a problem, officer?” The fire monster's voice was soft and raspy but you could hear the alarm there.

You gave him your most reassuring smile. “Oh, no, no, not at all.” You try to laugh, in a way you hope sounds a little apologetic. “I'm off duty right now, just here for a drink.”

The monster seems to think over your words for a moment before relaxing slightly. “.....then, what can I get you........?”

You made a quick glance around the room to see what the selection was, and when you caught sight of a patron drinking something dark blue and purple that seemed to be glowing, you casually pointed it out. “How about... whatever that is?”

The fire monster nods and you take a seat down the bar, trying to give the other patrons some space. You remove your jacket and button-up, leaving only your white undershirt, in hopes of looking less like you were about to make an arrest. It seemed to work, as the chatter in the bar slowly picked up again.

When the fire monster brought you your drink, you gave him a smile and nod. “Thanks.” You might have been laying it on a little thick, but you really just wanted to show you weren't here to cause problems for anybody.

After examining the drink and enjoying the sight of the strange colored liquid swirling around, but never mixing in the glass, you took a small sip of the drink.

It was the strangest thing you'd ever tasted. You could taste the alcohol but the flavor was hard to describe, somewhat fruity with an almost bitter aftertaste you couldn't quite pin down, but the real difference was the tingling buzz that radiated from the tart liquid. It buzzed all the way down your throat and into your stomach. You'd heard that magical drinks actually had a certain kick to them but tasting it was another thing entirely. The effect was something between the freshness of eating mints and the fizzle of pop rocks. You actually shuddered at the sensation before exhaling.

It was different, very different. But good. You took another sip, a bigger one this time. Now that you knew what to expect you really got to enjoy the sensations of the buzzing and the unique flavor.

You could definitely see coming back here again. Though maybe in civvies next time so she didn't give the bartender a heart attack.

Wait, did monsters have hearts? You heard their bodies are made of magic, does that include magical organs? Monsters are supposed to have souls, and apparently, souls are a real thing, but you couldn't remember the significance of that. You'd have to read up on monster anatomy when you got home.

Despite the pleasant buzz from the monster drink, you quickly noticed the drastic change in the atmosphere again.

Two men, two human men had come into the bar and by the looks on their faces, you could already tell they weren't here just for a drink. They were walking straight enough, but the slight sway as the stood in front of the bar had you guessing that they'd already had a few drinks. Without looking away, you grabbed your jacket and your badge, slipping them on quickly and quietly. You decided that you didn't need to engage them, just yet. Instead, you watched them carefully.

You couldn't quite catch the man's words from your place at the end of the bar but when he casually knocked a drink off the table, the mug shattering on the floor, with a staged 'Whoops' you decided to intervene.

“Is there a problem here?” Your voice cut the laughs from the two men short as they finally noticed you.

For a moment, you see a look of shock and alarm at the sight of you, but then his shock melts into a smile. “Naw, officer. Just having a nice conversation.” His attitude surprised you until he looked back at the bartender with a look that almost could be described as triumphant.

Ah, that was it. He assumed because you were human, that you would be on his side. You considered what your next move should be.

You could try to charge this guy with a misdemeanor. Harassment, destruction of property, perhaps. Maybe with the right pressure, bump it up to a hate crime. _ Because you know that's what's going on here. Racist pricks harassing monsters that are too scared to fight back. _Even though he would attest to the broken glass being an accident, and there was no way to know whether or not the monster behind the bar would be willing to put themselves out there and bring attention to himself by getting involved in this. Relations with monsters and humans were still tenuous. Even if it did, it's possible that the guy would get off free of charge due to a shitty judge.

You gave the man and his friend a thorough once over. You prided yourself on being a pretty good judge of character, and this guy was a punk. He talked big but would fold until pressure.

You pushed passed the two men, giving the fire monster with a smile before turning to face them again. “It's time for you two to run on home.” You replied to the men evenly, keeping your smile amiable. “You've clearly had enough to drink if you're already having... accidents.” Your eyes trail down to the broken glass on the floor.

The other guy looks confused. “Hey we're not doing anything-” Your smile drops and the withering look you gave him seems to stop him mid-sentence. “Uuh, yeah, maybe we should just go.”

But the big guy wasn't done with this fake bravado. “We don't have to leave.” He looked to the monster behind you. “The flame boy hasn't asked us to leave-”

He took a step towards you, intentionally or not, and your hand automatically went to your hip. It wasn't a planned motion, more of a nervous habit when you had to deal with aggressive assholes, but the guy seemed to notice the movement and paled at the sight of the gun on your waist, your off-duty weapon at your side.

You fought the urge to roll your eyes.

As if you'd actually shoot him.

As if you'd actually waste a bullet on this moron.

But the guy immediately backed off. “Y-yeah fine. We're going. We're gone.”

Just like you thought, all talk.

You let out a sigh as the men rush over each other to get out of the bar and turn to look at the flame monster behind the bar. “Are you alright?”

The monster stared at you before his eyes, what you assumed were his eyes, flick down to your sidearm, now carefully hidden under your coat.

“Oh, no worries.” You let out a laugh. Maybe it was the alcohol loosening you up but you even felt cheeky enough to give a little wink. “It's not even loaded.”

And it wasn't. You hadn't loaded your off-duty firearm in over a year.

Usually, just the sight of an officer with a gun was enough to bring the rabble you dealt with to heel and back off, usually without taking the gun out of its holster. You had only become an officer a little over a year ago but in all that time you'd never had to actually shoot anyone. It was a benefit of having lived in a small town.

The monster seemed to believe you and his shoulders relaxed, his body losing the tension that the two men, and even yourself, had brought into the bar. Though the room itself was still dead quiet.

Maybe it was time you hit the road.

You moved away so the bartender could clean up the shattered glass on the floor and walked back to your drink. You took a few more large sips to finish off the drink before grabbing your wallet. You left enough for your drink and a good tip but decided to add extra as a sort of unspoken apology for scaring him and hope it helped pay for the shattered mug.

You grabbed your button-up shirt and headed out for the door, feeling the eyes of all the monsters in the bar on you. Before heading out the door, you turn to face the crowd. “Y'all have a good night.” _ Y'all? Really. _

As you stepped out of the bar you came face to.... skull with a skeleton.

Scratch that, a group of skeletons.

A gaggle of skeletons.

A murder of-

There were three of them, two shorter ones and one taller one. The one in red and black leather with a gold tooth, another in a blue hoodie, and the tall one in orange.

For an absurd moment, you thought you were looking at three dead bodies propped up in front of the bar. But they can't be real, maybe just early Halloween decorations-

Your confusion and slight panic immediately disbursed as you realized that these weren't skeletons, they were just monsters. Skeleton monsters. And they were staring at you with the same look of confusion and alarm that you had undoubtedly been giving them.

You let out a breath, the air outside feeling colder than before. “Ah, um, sorry.” You weren't exactly sure what you were apologizing for. Maybe for panicking at their appearances, you had been pretty good at taking the varied looks of monsters in stride so blatantly gawking at them wasn't something you were proud of. You moved carefully out of their way and walked around them.

You didn't have to look back to know they were still watching you, even as you made your way to your car.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlike the story it's based on, this story will be less focused on romance and fluff and more... well, you'll see. Probably. XD
> 
> Of course, that's not to say their won't be any romance subplots. I mean, anything's possible. XD
> 
> I had the idea of a police officer getting involved with the lodge skeletons. I've read other Undertale fanfics where the reader has a green/kindness or purple/perseverance (or multicolored) soul and as much as I like the idea of multicolored souls with cracks to represent emotional scars, for this story I felt a simple yellow/justice soul would suit the reader and their occupation the best.
> 
> I'm debating how much character to give the reader. So far, they're observant and willing to put themselves at risk to help others. (Both are necessary for their occupation, imo) But I also wanted them to be empathetic and very aware of the injustices happening around them. 
> 
> They'll be more physically adept than is usually seen in these types of stories, due to police training, but they're not gonna be an action hero busting out kung fu skills, you know? XD


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by and basically hijacks the backstory from Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady by Tyrant_Tortoise. Please, check them out on AO3 and on tumblr!!

Things were awkward at your work, but no one brought up the conversation from the other day and they seemed to avoid mentioning monsters around you, which suited you just fine. Work was nothing special. Throughout the week there were a few warnings and tickets given for speeding and a missing headlight. There was a small fender-bender where you were certain the driver who crashed into the back of another car was texting and driving, but you didn't see the crash so you really couldn't write him up on it. No injuries, thankfully, and insurance traded.

You made it a habit to drop by Grillby's and have a drink.

A few days after the initial incident you couldn't help laughing when the same two guys from the other day walked in, _ r_eturning to the scene of the crime. They spotted you right away and all but ran the other way. Hopefully the idea that an armed officer frequenting the bar would be enough to keep them from coming back.

The regulars in the bar seemed to acclimate to the sight of you pretty quick, though the fact that you made it a point to not wear your uniform might have helped some.

You learned pretty quickly that the fire monster behind the bar was, in fact, Grillby. The owner of the bar. He apparently owned another bar, two more technically if you included the one underground, a few hours away at the city near mount Ebott but had moved out here a few months ago. That struck you as odd but it really wasn't your place to pry. He wasn't the most talkative guy but his drinks were fantastic, even if you could swear the magic in the drink enhanced the effects of the alcohol. Sometimes you'd grab some fries or even a burger if you felt like splurging. It was quickly becoming a highlight of your day.

Once the monsters relaxed around you, you got the chance to really talk to some of them. Learning a lot about monster history and culture you hadn't been aware of. There was plenty of misinformation out there, and hearing the truth from the source was always better than listening to fear-mongering rhetoric from idiots looking for a fight.

During these talks, you started to hear the same names thrown around frequently.

You quickly realized they were talking about the skeletons you'd run into last time.

“I didn't even know Sans had any cousins, you know?” A tipsy monster had slurred at you- as if you knew who that was. “I'd only ever heard of him an' his bro- his, his brotherrrr.”

You held back a snort of laughter and encouraged the monster into calling it quits for that night, and watched as his much more sober drinking buddy helped him out of the bar.

After about a week of stopping by at Grillby's you met your first skeleton.

And he wasn't one of the ones you had seen before.

This one was tall, and for a moment you thought he was the Skeleton in orange from before, but the gold tooth and fangs led you to think otherwise. And a collar? Like, a literal dog collar aorund his neck-

He sits at the bar-

-right next to you.

_ What the hell, there's barely anyone at the bar, you could literally sit anywhere else. _

Maybe he considered that seat his spot, you guessed you could understand that. You fought the urge to seek some personal space by moving over a seat.

No words were exchanged between him and Grillby, but soon the fire monster brought out four shot glasses and fulled to the brim with purple and orange liquor, that swirled in the glass of its own accord. The monster beside you pulled a bag from his jacket and you vaguely spot a spider pattern on the paper bag. From it, the skeleton pulled out a glazed purple donut and took a bite. You glanced at Grillby, but it seemed like he was neither surprised nor upset to see the outside food in his bar. Usually, that kind of thing was banned or at least frowned upon, but Grillby didn't seem bothered so it wasn't your business either.

“what? never seen a donut from muffet's before?”

The monster's voice was rough but higher pitched then you would have expected and apparently he's caught you staring.

“Sorry, didn't mean to stare.” You look him in the... sockets, still feeling a little unnerved at the sight of a skeleton. “No, I've never seen that brand.”

The skeleton shrugged. “makes sense. the nearest muffet's bakery is about an hour away.”

“Ah, you must really like them if you go that far out of your way for a few donuts.” You couldn't help the incredulous tone of your voice. You couldn't imagine going that far out of your way just for some donuts.

He meets your incredulity with a smirk. “oh yeah?” His next move surprises you, he reaches into his bag and offers you a donut, didn't he just say it took an hour to get to the nearest bakery? That's two hours there and back, yet he's so willing to share?

He's still smirking. Getting a closer look at him, you're surprised at how malleable his skull appears to be. It seems to stretch and move with his facial expressions, not until a human's face. Maybe that's why you interpreted his cocked bone brow as a challenge. There's something about this that's suspicious, and maybe it's the alcohol talking, but your game.

You take the donut and notice it's still warm- _ Is it magic that keeps it so fresh or- _and take a bite. It was delicious! Freshly baked, soft, and the icing had a tangy flavor that balanced with the sweet glazed donut perfectly.

“Oh, wow. These really are good.” Not 'I'll drive two hours to buy some' good but still good.

The skeleton's smirk widens. “they're called spider donuts.”

You stop in the middle of chewing and feel a wave of panic and disgust flood into you as an image of spiders erupting from the donut and into your mouth makes you wanna gag. You carefully look down at the donut and are relieved to see no sign of spiders. You glance over at the skeleton, who's still got that shit-eating-grin. Ah, this is why he wanted you to have one.

“Um... like... regular spiders or....” You let the sentence drop, hoping he'll catch on.

“monster spiders.” He confirms.

Monsters are supposed to turn into dust when they die. So if it was a spider monster, it's dust would be... mixed in with the flour and cooked? Still gross and unsettling but... “And that's... kosher?” You weren't sure if that was the right word to use, or if it meant anything to this skeleton, but he nods.

You glance down at the donut again. You could practically feel the smug satisfaction radiating off this guy and it made you want to prove him wrong. You swallowed the rest of the donut that you'd been chewing on and took a sip of your drink. After looking the skeleton in the sockets once again you took another defiant bite.

He actually laughed at that, more of a chuckle that he drowned out by taking a shot. But you couldn't help feeling a little proud of getting that reaction from him.

You still felt a little strange at the thought of eating dead monsters but if it was their culture, or whatever, who were you to judge?

“So, you come here a lot?” You asked. Then mentally kicked yourself because that sounds a lot like ‘come here often’ which you were pretty sure was flirting. And you’re not.

“whenever i can.” You saw him pull something out of his coat pocket.

_ Oh god, what now. _

It was a bottle of barbecue sauce and before you could think what on earth he needs that for, he actually drank it, right from the bottle!

“Ugh, what?” You couldn’t help but laugh. “Why?”

He was chuckling. “what? you don’t like barbecue?”

“No, I love barbecue, just not as a drink.” You tried to hide your smile by taking another sip of your own drink. He actually offered the bottle to you and you couldn’t help pulling back. “Ha! No thanks. I think I've had enough accepting strange food from monsters I just met for one night.”

He shrugged. “more for me.” And took another swig of sauce before chasing it with another shot.

You took another bite of the spider donut reminding yourself that it wasn't made of normal spiders. Just monster dust. Ugh.

“so, what's a human cop doing in a monster bar?”

His question was sudden enough to catch you off guard. He wasn't looking at you but you knew he was paying very close attention. Was that what this was about? The real reason why he was sitting next to you?

You couldn't blame him for being cautious. “I'm actually new in town, just moved here, and I wanted to get a drink after work and this bar was the only one I remembered seeing.”

“heard about that. sounds like that was an interesting night.” He was looking at you now, out of the corner of his eye socket.

You shrug. “If you think two spineless idiots are interesting.”

The skeleton shoots you a questioning look.

Oh, spineless. Did he think you were making fun of skeletons? Was that racist? He's still smiling but that smile is really getting harder and harder to read. You decide you should just pretend you didn't just say that.

“I came back a few times in case those morons decided to come back and cause problems and I kept coming back for the drinks.” You emphasized that point by taking another drink. “And the burgers are fantastic.” He was staring at you again. Trying to guess whether you were being honest. “Is that a problem?” If you were making the people here uncomfortable, maybe it was better to find another bar.

The skeleton seemed to examine you for a moment longer before shrugging, his eyes returning to his drink. “not unless you make it a problem.”

“Right...” That wouldn’t be an issue. “No problems here.”

“good. glad to hear it.” The skeleton took another shot. “this place is pretty important to me and my... family.” You couldn't help but notice the pause before 'family'. Maybe he had a complicated family situation back home? Or-

_ No, not your business. _

You finally finished the last bite of the spider donut and the rest of your drink. “Well, thanks for the donut.”

The skeleton gave a noncommittal hum in response.

You stand and stretch a little before slipping back into your coat and paying for your drink and leaving a tip. You felt a little drowsier than usual, it had been a long week, but it was a pleasant sort of tiredness. You knew you were going to sleep well tonight.

Just before you headed for the door, the skeleton was standing in front of you, with an impassive look on his face.

For a moment, you felt a rush of adrenaline. You hadn't heard him get up or come so close to you but when he lifts his hand up in front of him, waiting for you to shake it, you feel yourself relax.

“was nice meetin' you.” The bones were warm to the touch but rough, if he had been human, you'd have called them calloused. His hand wasn't quite what you thought of as a skeleton hand. It was thicker, and, except for the phalanges, looked not too unlike a human hand. Except made of bones.

You took his hand. “You too.” You give him your name.

“...friends call me Mutt.”

You gape at him in disbelief at that absolutely terrible fucking nickname. “Yyyyeah, I'm never calling you that.”

He smiled again. “ah, what? don't wanna be friends?”

You snorted, derisively. “That nickname sucks.”

“you get used to it.” He replied easily as he... was still holding onto your hand.

“So you admit, it's a shitty nickname.” You shake your head.

“it suits me. unless you think you can come up with somethin' better?”

Another challenge. By the tone of his voice you can tell he doesn't actually expect you to think of one- _ why is he still holding your hand _\- and you quickly look over his body for some kind of quick nickname alternative.

Fur-trimmed hood- _ Fluff, hood, furry- _ hell no. His teeth, his bones? _ Too obvious and not specific enough. _ What else was there? _ Mind games, trolling, donuts, barbecue- _

“Barbecue.” It flies out your mouth before you really have a chance to think it over.

His brow was twisted in a look of mocking incredulity.

You decide to double down. “S-sure. Barbecue- uh BB, like BBQ.”

He laughs again, an actual laugh. “that name sucks.”

You shrug. “Better then mutt.”

Then his eye flashes orange and every hair on your body seems to stand on end. You feel the overwhelming instinct to fight or to run, but you end up standing totally still. Something passes over you. It feels like something intangible going through you but you can still feel-

He releases your hand and his eye isn't glowing.

And he's looking at you with the same casual grin. “hope to see you around, goldie.” Then he walks back to the bar.

You're still feeling strange, there are goosebumps breaking out over your arms and for a moment you wonder if that really just happened. What even happened? You look at Mutt- _ not Mutt, you're not calling him that- _sitting back at the bar with his back to you.

After a moment of hesitation and confusion, you unsteadily leave the bar. Your steps are a little unsteady, and you know it's not the alcohol that's got you shaking.

* * *

As soon as the human cop was gone Mutt took his final shot and gave Grillby the usual. “you can put it on _his _tab.”

Grillby nods and Mutts makes his way to the door and a quick shortcut to the lodge.

He was standing on the patio of the spacious, somewhat rundown lodge that he and his brother had lived in for barely a month before being kicked out. Most of the lights were already off. He checked his phone for the time and saw it was just passed ten pm. So Sans could potentially be in the lab.

He took another shortcut and was standing outside the seemingly normal but heavily reinforced door to the basement. He knocked slowly and waited.

From the other side of the door, he hears shuffling and then. “who's there?”

After taking a moment to think about it. “olive.”

“olive who?” The voice asked.

“sorry pal, you're not my type.”

There was silence, then a snort of laughter and he could hear the locked being unlatched and removed before the door finally creaked open.

Stretch was smiling but Mutt could see the confusion there too. Mutt hadn't visited the lodge alone since... well since he, or really his brother, got kicked out. And where his brother goes, so does he.

“mind lettin' me in. need to talk to classic.”

Stretch moved out of his way. “oh yeah, sure.”

Mutt walked passed him, moving deeper into the lab and decidedly ignoring the stink eye red was giving him. Though noting some of the half-eaten food red left laying around. The lab hadn't improved since he's left. If anything, it was worse. More crowded, more cluttered, more random machinery. It was a loud, chaotic, mess without their brothers to call them out of their laziness and order them to clean up after themselves.

“mutt?”

In the back, hunched over books and papers, was Sans. A Sans that looked nothing like Sans. Not his Sans anyway. “you look like shit.”

Sans stiffened at the unexpected barb but moment later runs a hand over his face and let out a miserable laugh. “feel like shit, too. but, uh, what brings you here?”

“met that cop you were worried about.”

Sans's gaze becomes sharp, focused, and he stands from his chair. “you met them? did you learn anything?”

“did you kill them?” He heard Red behind him and by the tone, Mutt could tell he was... mostly joking.

But it would be a lie to say Mutt hadn't considered that possibility before he met you. If he thought you could actually be a threat to the safety of the lodge and, by extension, his brother, then he wouldn't have a problem getting rid of you...

But. “you want my opinion or the facts?”

“both.” Sans replied, wiping some sweat from his skull.

He told them your name. “they've got a yellow soul. No LV, no EXP.” Mutt shrugs, dismissively. “nothin' to worry about. doubt they know anything about us. from what I can tell, they're just there for the drinks.”

The tension in Sans melts away and he slumps back into his chair. “good. that's- that's good.” His relief is palpable.

“the cop?” Stretch had joined the four of them in the back room and sat at a desk next to Sans. “i though grillby said they were fine.”

Sans nodded, wearily. “he did, and i trust his instincts but i... i can't help worrying. if there were human cops investigating us...” He shook his head. “i don't wanna think about it.”

Yes, if the humans found out about the machine, about the alternate universes, about what Sans was responsible for, and what the machine was truly capable of... it could potentially lead to another war between monsters and humans. One the softhearted monsters of this universe were even unlikely to survive.

And none of them would ever get home.

“thought you'd wanna know.” Mutt shrugged before heading back for the basement door.

“thanks, Mutt.” Sans weary voice called after him and mutt gave a halfhearted wave but didn't look back.

He'd met up with Stretch at Muffet's and heard about the human cop that ol' classic was stressing out about. A human who suddenly started showing up at Grillby's and Mutt decided to take a closer look. Feel you out. He'd expected for you to spit out the spider donut, disgusted and angry at him for tricking you, but was surprised when you chose to keep eating and even more surprised when you continued the conversation. You even cracked a skeleton pun. And that stupid nickname?

After meeting you in person, talking to you, and getting a good look at your soul, he knew you weren't dangerous.

Of course... not being dangerous didn't mean you were harmless, no LV didn't mean you were incapable of cruelty, and no EXP didn't make you innocent. Of all people, Mutt knew, there were plenty of ways to hurt other people that didn't require killing them. But Mutt considered himself a good judge of character and trusting his instincts had saved him and his bro on more than one occasion. So, for now, Mutt was willing to give you the benefit of the doubt... but whether you lived up to his impression of you was something only time would tell.

You with your pure, yellow soul.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In Undertale you can be exceptionally cruel, all without gaining exp. I mean, of course, how you treat the snowman. You can promise to take his snow piece beyond the barrier only to eat his pieces in front of him over and over again, mocking him. I don't even find reference to whether or not reducing him to 'a useless pile of snow' gains you any EXP. (And I'm not gonna do it to find out)
> 
> Also, the nickname given to Mutt by the reader is a little self-indulgent on my part. XD It's kind of a reference to some bitty comics I've got on my tumblr lol. But if things turn out the way I plan, the reader won't call him that forever, so no worries if you absolutely hate him being called that.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by and basically hijacks the backstory from Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady by Tyrant_Tortoise. Please, check them out on AO3 and on tumblr!!

You continued to stop by Grillby's a few times a week, even after that strange encounter with... BBQ? After some deliberation, you had settled on calling him BBQ. Mutt just seemed more like an insult than a nickname and you weren't really comfortable using it.

Part of you was still fixated over that moment that you can't explain. The tight grip on your hand, that glowing eye, the feeling of something bordering on invasive. If had only last couple seconds and then BBQ just turned around and acted like nothing had happened. You hadn't imagined it, right? You weren't drunk enough to fabricate that, you'd only had one drink. You were buzzed, not drunk. But you still couldn't figure out what exactly happened.

But thoughts of that moment petered out the next morning over coffee and it probably didn't matter anyway.

You didn't have work today but when you did you were expected at the station at 9 am and it took about 15 minutes to reach the station from your apartment. You were waking up at 8:00, leaving you an hour for your morning routine, but you wanted to start getting up at 7 to fit in your morning jog.

Back at your last town, you had started jogging. It wasn't something you particularly enjoyed, but a 20 to 30-minute jog was an easy way to stay active for work and wake yourself up. However, the longer you kept up your routine, the more you could enjoy it. And your body eventually became used to the jog and felt less and less sore the more you did it.

Even on the days when you didn't work, you kept up the routine. You'd read it was healthier to keep the same routine every day. Even if the slacker hidden deep within you wanted to throw your phone out the window and sleep another eight hours.

Recently, however, with the added pressure of moving to a new town and acclimating to your new job, you had been slacking off on jogging in the morning.

You'd heard about an old hiking tail in the nearby forest, not that far from your apartment. The path supposedly circled around a huge part of the forest, with some smaller offshoots that let any hikers back into civilization. Since you were off today, you figured now was as good of a time as any to check it out to see if walking it would be a better option for you, instead of jogging in circles around your neighborhood where you could get hit by an inattentive driver. And the idea of getting a gym membership didn't appeal to you.

So, that's why you were currently jogging through the spooky forest all alone.

Though the idea was more frightening than the reality of it. With bright beams of sunlight breaking through the trees overhead, you had pretty good visibility and, to your surprise, the hiking trail was better maintained then you had been led to believe. From the sound of it, nobody really used this track anymore... And yet you could clearly make out two distinct sets of footprints. Fresh ones, too.

Apparently, someone had the same idea you had.

Maybe you'd run into them one of these days.

Or now.

Or, like, right now.

You had been so into your own thoughts that you hadn't noticed the two figures coming closer from the opposite direction until they were a few feet in front of you. You expected them to pass you by, maybe with a nod or wave of acknowledgment, so when the two of them stopped dead in their tracks at the sight of you, you had found yourself also slowing to a stop.

They were skeletons. Two of them.

Were they related to BBQ? One of them was tall, very tall, while the other was a little bit shorter than you. The tall one kind of resembles him... or is it kinda racist to assume that?

They were still staring at you.

You decided to break the ice with a tentative “Hello...” after giving them a little wave and a smile.

“O-OH! HELLO, HUMAN!” The taller one was visibly uncomfortable and shooting looks at the other skeleton- _Like he's guilty of something_\- or maybe just nervous around humans.

“YES! HELLO!” The smaller skeleton also seemed a bit at a loss for words.

You decide to break the ice, again. You give them your name. “Just trying out this trail for a new morning routine. Sorry, if I startled you.”

That seemed to finally get the two skeletons to snap out of their stupor. “YES, ACTUALLY! WE WERE AND THERE'S NO NEED FOR YOU TO APOLOGIZE!” The taller skeleton moved towards you, very suddenly, and at a pace that startled you and, without thought, your hand found your way to the empty spot on your hip.

As he stopped in front of you to offer you a hand for a handshake, you scolded yourself as you shook his hand. You were glad you didn't bring your off duty firearm with you on your jogs.

“ALLOW US TO GIVE YOU A PROPER INTRODUCTION, HUMAN!” The taller skeleton struck a heroic pose that you barely holding back a snort. “I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

The shorter skeleton was suddenly beside Papyrus, also posing. “AND I AM KNOWN AS, THE MAGNIFICENT S- BLUEBERRY!”

The two posing together reminded you of power rangers and you had to bite back the laughter again. “Nice to meet you, Papyrus and Blueberry.”

“WE USE THIS TRAIL FOR STAMINA TRAINING EVERY MORNING!”

“I heard the full trail was pretty long, how long have you two been out here?”

Blueberry's chest seemed to puff out with pride. “WE START OUR ROUTINE AT FIVE EVERY MORNING!”

Five... as in five AM??? You started this tail a quarter passed 7.

“W-wait... have you guys been running for two hours!?” You can't hide your shock.

Papyrus suddenly seems genuinly regretful. “YES, IT'S UNFORTUNATE THAT WE HAVE TO START SO LATE IN THE MORNING.”

Blueberry seems to share in his friends- family members?- disappointment. “WITH ALL THE EXCITEMENT LATELY WE JUST HAVEN'T HAD THE TIME TO DEDICATE TO TRAINING.”

Wait... WHAT?? Were they insinuating that they wanted to get up earlier to run... MORE???

“W-wow, that's amazing.” You mean that genuinely. “I mean, I usually feel good about myself just getting in thirty minutes in the morning, let along two hours. You guys must have crazy amounts of stamina.” _Shit, that didn't sound as dirty in your head as it did saying it out loud._

But that seemed to instantly lift their spirits.

You noticed the literal stars in Blueberry's eyes and he glowed from your praise. “A DAILY ROUTINE IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT!”

You can't help but ask. “Are all monsters as diligent as you about training?”

Their grins instantly deflated into shared looks of disappointment. It was almost funny how animated and lively their expressions were.

Papyrus shakes his head. “NO, UNFORTUNATELY.”

“BOTH OUR BROTHERS ARE COMPLETELY HOPELESS WHEN IT COMES TO TRAINING,” Blueberry added.

“HOPELESS LAZYBONES.” Papyrus agreed, his expression grim, but there was a fondness in his chastizing tone.

You chuckle. “Yeah, morning routines aren't for everybody.” The slacker inside you screams that it's not for you either but you promptly ignore the urge to go straight home and crawl into bed.

You decide to shift the conversation. “So, you guys have been using this trail for a while, right? I was thinking I'd start taking it for my own morning routine.”

They both pause for a moment, glancing at one another before Blueberry smiles. “I CERTAINLY RECOMMEND IT, AS LONG AS YOU DON'T LET YOURSELF WONDER TOO FAR FROM THE PATH.”

Papyrus nodded, a little too eagerly. “Y-YES IT'S VERY EASY TO GET LOST IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR WAY THROUGH THE FOREST.”

It was sound advice but something about the way they said it seemed... off.

“Okay, I'll be sure to remember that.” You stepped a little out of their way. “I'll let you two get back to your training.

Just before you started to continue your own jog you heard Blueberry's voice call out your name. “WOULD YOU LIKE TO JOIN US?”

You turned just in time to see the look of concern? Alarm? On Papyrus's face but Blueberry was smiling at you.

You considered their offer, it was tempting but... “Are you sure, I wouldn't want to intrude on your training or anything.”

“NONSENSE, YOU WOULDN'T BE INTRUDING!” Blueberry laughed. “I INVITED YOU, AFTER ALL.”

You glanced at Papyrus, who was still looking nervously at Blueberry before noticing your stare. He immediately straightened out and added an enthusiastic. “OF COURSE YOU CAN JOIN US!”

It occurred to you that trusting complete strangers could potentially but a disastrous idea. And as friendly as the two seemed, there was something suspicious about their behavior that you couldn't quite put your finger on.

But, at the same time, you didn't think they were a threat to you. It had only been a brief conversation, but they seemed to be two genuinely nice goofballs. And you were usually a pretty good judge of character.

Sure, why not.

“Okay, I'd love to.” You walk back to join them.

It became clear, very quickly, that Papyrus and Blueberry had you beat on stamina, speed, and... probably everything else. You were in pretty good shape but keeping up with them at their full speed was impossible. Even when they slowed down for you it took a while to adjust to the new speed. Meanwhile, the two of them weren't even breathing heavily.

Also, when you agreed to join them, you hadn't taken into account the length of the trail that these two ran, that being the entire thing, that took over an hour to run.

Someone please have mercy and just kill you now.

You might have regretted it, but Papyrus and Blueberry were so likable and funny and interested in everything you had to say. Engaging you in pleasant conversation throughout the, faster than usual, jog.

“YOU'RE PART OF THE HUMAN GUARD?” Blueberry's reaction made it sound like the coolest thing in the world.

“Y-yeah. I'm a police officer.” If your face wasn't already so flushed you probably would have blushed.

That led the two of them into telling you all about the monster's version of law enforcement underground. Blueberry proudly told you that he is, or rather was, second in command of the royal guard back home, and Papyrus's recounted his time trying to join it.

Papyrus let out a forlorn sigh. “IF ONLY THE ROYAL GUARD HADN'T BEEN DISBANDED.”

“Well, have you ever considered police work?” You ask between breaths. “There's no law saying monsters can't join the police force.” Though he'd probably be better off trying in a city closer to Mount Ebott, where there were more monsters and more monster friendly communities.

“I- I HAVE ACTUALLY. AND I'M CERTAIN THE HUMANS COULD USE SOMEONE AS GREAT AS I WORKING ALONGSIDE THEM.” Papyrus looks away, seemingly torn. “THINGS ARE A LITTLE COMPLICATED LATELY AND UNTIL THE ISSUE IS RESOLVED I FEEL MY DUTY IS TO BE HERE AND SUPPORT MY BROTHER...”

Your heart went out to the big guy and you took the opportunity to pat his shoulder reassuringly. “I'm sure you'll get your chance soon. Any police force would be lucky to have you.”

As quickly as his mood had darkened, it seemed to brighten right back up. “THANK YOU HUMAN!”

The smile he gave you was almost enough to keep you from feeling like you wanted to die from exhaustion.

* * *

Stretch woke up on his own.

Which was... strangely unpleasant.

Usually, his brother would have gotten back from his morning run with this universes Papyrus and have come into his room after a quick shower to scold him for still being in bed. And then after his brother left the room he would pretend to, and sometimes succeed in, falling back asleep so his bro would have to come back and scold him some more.

It was repetitive, but the familiarity was comforting, and Stretch would never pass on an opportunity to tease his brother.

So waking up late, and on his own, was a little disappointing.

So, he dragged himself out of bed and realized he had fallen asleep in his clothes. He should probably change. After going back and forth on whether or not to change, Stretch finally decided to just go ahead and do it. Though his hoodie wasn't too dirty, he could probably keep that.

When he finally got downstairs... his brother still wasn't there.

He tried sitting on the couch-

_ **PLLLLLLTFFFFFFFFFFFFT** _

Stretch pulled out the whoopee cushion from under the couch cushion, rolling his eyes. Then he tried to make himself comfortable...

But he just... couldn't.

His brother was still nowhere to be found.

This was weird. Usually, his bro was so punctual. He's never taken this long on a run. Even on the occasions when he and Paps get a little too competitive and went a whole 'nother lap around the forest to race each other to the end.

Despite the perfectly reasonable voice in his head telling him that this was nothing to be concerned over, he couldn't bring himself to wait any longer.

Stretch groaned as he lifted himself from the couch and took a shortcut to the closest part of the trail. He definitely hadn't planned to walk the entire thing, looking for Blue (it was still weird calling his brother that) and Paps, but the further he got down the path, the more nervous he felt.

The two of them always took the trail counter-clockwise, if he went along the path clockwise, he was bound to run into them eventually, right?

Just a little further.

He'd been walking down the trail for a while when he heard his brother's voice. Not just his brother, but Paps, too. He couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but their pleasant chatter that echoes through the forest immediately set Stretch's mind at ease.

Until he saw them on the trail.

Because they weren't alone.

There was a human with them.

You.

It was you.

The human that, not even a week ago, Mutt had said wasn't anything to be worried about.

And yet. Here. You are.

Within a half an hour walk to the lodge.

And he was panicking.

Maybe it wasn't the same human. Maybe it was just him remembering you wrong. What were the odds that the same human cop that had been at grillby's was suddenly here, so close to the lodge, so close to the machine, so close-

“PAPY!” His brother's voice caused him to flinch. And his bro had accidentally called him by his normal nickname, though he seemed to realize it because he continued. “L-LOOK PAPYRUS, IT'S MY BROTHER!”

All three of them were staring at him now and Papyrus began waving him over-enthusiastically. “HELLO STRETCH! COME MEET OUR NEW FRIEND!”

You seemed to blanch at the statement, looking at Papyrus with a questioning look that the taller skeleton seemed to miss entirely.

Stretch tried not to rattle as he came closer to you, especially as your eyes landed on him and you smiled. “Hi, Stretch was it?” You told him your name. And now he was certain that you were the same human. “Nice to meet you.”

“y-yeah. you too.”

Stretch knew his face was blank, but Blue could still tell that he was panicking and patted his shoulder with a reassuring smile before turning back to you. “ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT US TO WALK YOU THE REST OF THE WAY?”

You shook your head. “No, that's okay. It's not too far from here.”

“BEFORE YOU GO, PERHAPS WE COULD EXCHANGE PHONE NUMBERS!” Papyrus offered with a bright smile, his voice drowning out the strangled groan that Stretch couldn't hold back. “THEN WE CAN KEEP IN TOUCH IF YOU EVER DECIDE TO JOIN US AGAIN!”

Oh stars.

No.

Please _no_.

_Papyrus, please_-

But you're already pulling out your phone and Stretch feels his panic rising up again. You and Papyrus exchange numbers and Papyrus forwards your contact information to Blue.

You exchange goodbyes with them and walk the other way.

Seeing you getting further away from the lodge helps calm him down but still if you were going to come back-

Before you get too far away, he decides to check your soul.

It was just like Mutt said.

**LV 1**

**HP: 20**

**ATK: 10 DEF: 10**

***IS GOING TO PASS OUT AS SOON AS THEY GET HOME. SO MUCH PAIN. SEND HELP-**

Blue stepped carefully in front of him, blocking his view of you. “It's alright Papy.” His voice was hushed. “They're a good human and if they walk with us, we can make sure that they don't get too close to the lodge or run into any of Edge's traps.”

That... makes sense.

His brother trusted a little too easily sometimes...

But he wasn't weak and he wasn't stupid.

If he thinks he can handle it then... Stretch knows he can trust him.

As Stretch, his brother, and Papyrus made their way back to the lodge Stretch was trying to decide whether he should tell the others about this new development.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Stretch, sorry for the soul attack lol
> 
> We're getting through meeting the skeletons at a pretty decent pace, but the plot proper won't start until the reader has met all of them.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story was inspired by and basically hijacks the backstory from Skeleton Squatters and the Landlady by Tyrant_Tortoise. Please, check them out on AO3 and on tumblr!!

You were in pain.

As soon as you got home you collapsed on your couch, ready to resign yourself to the sweet embrace of death. You were sweaty and gross and needed a shower, then maybe a long soak in the tub to soothe your aching muscles but you couldn't move. The prison of your flesh refusing to take a single step more.

Trying to keep up with Papyrus and Blueberry for over an hour had left you exhausted and sore. You can't feel your feet anymore and you're pretty sure that they've fallen off completely.

Okay, you were being dramatic but holy shit that was way more than you signed up for.

As much as you liked Papyrus and Blueberry, there was no way you could do that again.

A familiar noise from your phone lets you know that you've got a new text and you numbly lift your phone and spot some new messages.

** UNKNOWN NUMBER: **HELLO!

** UNKNOWN NUMBER: **THIS IS THE MAGNIFICENT BLUEBERRY!

** UNKNOWN NUMBER: **I HOPE YOU MADE IT BACK HOME SAFELY!

You quickly added him to your contacts.

Yeah, I got home fine. Thanks for checking up on me. :)

** PAPYRUS: **HELLO! IT WAS A PLEASURE TO MEET YOU!

** PAPYRUS: ** IT'S BEEN SO LONG SINCE I'VE GOTTEN TO HANG OUT WITH A COOL NEW FRIEND!

** PAPYRUS: ** I HOPE YOU CAN JOIN US AGAIN SOON! :D :D :D

You stared at the sweet message and feel your resolve to not accept his offer crumpling.

Oh, that is_ so _ not fucking fair.

* * *

Red was two seconds away from stabbing this crazy lady in the neck and just getting it over with. If he was about to be arrested anyway, it might as well be for something he actually did. He could feel the eyes of all the humans, gawking at him. If he was alone, he could have just taken a shortcut out of there and just laid low for a while. Unfortunately... he wasn't.

His brother stood in a very familiar pose. Back straight, shoulders loose, chin up. But it was the glare that really sold the look. His bro was a master at intimidation and he was currently scowling down at the stupid bitch that caused them all this trouble.

Edge had dragged him to the grocery store to pick up more ingredients for his... 'infamous' lasagna that had been was planning to cook tonight. In the middle of their shopping, his bro had noticed a shitty little brat climbing on the shelves and displays. If it was up to Red, he would have just let the kid fall and get crushed under the heavy soup cans. But his bro always did have a soft spot for kids, even if he'd never admit to it, and snatched the kid up before he ended up as a smear on the floor.

Before his brother had even had the chance to put the kid back on the floor the, previously mentioned, crazy bitch showed up screaming that the monsters were trying to steal her kid. Now she was screaming and her brat was crying and the police were already on their way.

But his bro wasn't the type to run and there was no way in hell that he would let his little brother face the humans alone.

Personally, Red was surprised she wasn't trembling at the sight of his brother's glare. Maybe it was the mistaken idea that being out in public, surrounded by other humans, that they couldn't hurt her.

Finally, the manager was coming back with a few police officers.

...why did one of them look so familiar.

...wait.

No fucking way.

It was _you. _

Red hadn't seen you since that night weeks ago but he was certain it was you. And now you were about to arrest him and his brother.

The bitch shot a nasty smirk at them when she saw you. “Officers! These monsters tried to kidnap my child!”

None of the police seemed all bothered by the woman's hysteria. One of the cops approached her. “Everything's gonna be alright ma'am. Follow me and please tell us what happened.”

The woman followed the other cop as they moved just far enough away where they couldn't hear what they were saying. The second cop was following the manager somewhere-

Red took this opportunity to move closer to Edge. “h-hey boss. maybe we should go. I can get us outta here in-”

“NO, SANS. BE QUIET.”

God, Red knew that look. There was no getting out of this.

You were coming closer, coming for them. Dammit, he really wasn’t ready to be taken out of here in cuffs-

“Hello,” You gave them your name. “Could the two of you please tell me what happened?”

That... wasn't what he was expecting. He hadn't thought any human cop would give them a chance to set the record straight. By the way, his bro's shoulders tensed, Red could tell he hadn't expected that either.

Edge recovered quickly. “I DID NOT TRY TO KIDNAP THAT WOMAN'S CHILD.” His fists were clenched at his sides. “THAT WOMAN SHOULD BE THANKING ME FOR KEEPING HER LITTLE-” He cuts off, clearly trying not to get too carried away in front of the human cop. “HER CHILD FROM BEING CRUSHED.” Edge motioned at the mess all over the floor. “THE CHILD WAS CLIMBING THE SHELVES AND BEING A DANGEROUS NUISANCE.”

“So, you were just trying to help the boy?” You asked.

“YES.”

You looked over to Red. “Do you have anything do add to that, sir?”

Red shook his head, a little numbly. “nah. it's just like he said.”

You nodded. “I understand.” Then you smiled. An actual smile. “We're going to get the manager to show us any recordings they have of what happened. Could the two of you follow me, please?”

You were being really polite and respectful and it was kind of freaking him out. What the hell were you up to? Were you trying to fool them into thinking you were actually going to be on their side only to turn on them when you get a chance? He can feel himself breaking out in a nervous sweat.

You, leading Red and Edge, and the second officer, leading the bitch and the stupid kid, led them all towards the office. You went inside and were in there for... a while. A long while. How hard was it to find a dumb recording? Then he could hear you, your voice raised without shouting so he couldn't really make out the words.

Red's eyes trailed over to the third cop, who was glaring at them with a hand on his hip. This prick was ready to arrest them, there and then, and Red had to fight the urge to spear the guy with a bone attack. These people were so weak and Red could kill them if he wanted to, let alone his brother. It was so frustrating.

If he was back home, these people would already be dead. If he was back home, Red and his brother wouldn't have to be arrested for shit they didn't do.

_ I swear if I end up in prison I'm gonna fuckin' kill classic. _

After way too_ fucking _ long waiting outside the office, you, the third cop, and the manager all came out of the office.

The manager was hunched over, and the third cop looked pissed.

You didn't look particularly happy either if anything you even more pissed then your buddy, but when you looked at them you smiled. “It seems there was a bit of a misunderstanding.”

Red heard the bitch let out a strange squawk, like an actual fucking bird, and Red wasn't sure what was happening.

“You guys are free to go.”

The bitch wasn't having it. “What!? How can you just let these things get away with nearly trying to steal my baby boy!?”

The third cop- did he shoot you a glare? You sure as shit were glaring at him- shook his head. “There's not enough evidence to support the charge that it was an attempted kidnapping.”

The tension in your shoulders dropped and your smile became outright smug. “There's no way to prove that either of these monsters were trying to kidnap your son. From their testimonies and the tapes, it looks like they were trying to help-”

“NO!” The bitch was screaming now. “No! You can't let them get away with this!”

The second cop took a step forward. “Ma'am, please calm down.”

You move between them and the bitch, facing them. “Like I said, you two are free to go.”

Red shot a look at his brother and there was genuine surprise on his face. Not only were they apparently_ not _going to jail, but the store manager even apologized for what happened and even offered them discounts on their groceries.

* * *

Everything hurts.

Your legs, your feet, your head. Just constant pain all day.

You ended up not being able to say no to Papyrus and Blueberry and had ended up 'jogging' with them in the mornings. In fact, you started getting up even earlier than you had been before to meet with them, get one lap around the trail, and head back to your apartment. You always told them that they shouldn't sacrifice their own training just for you but, of course, the two gave sugary sweet replies about being friends and god, you were such a pushover.

After a week of joining them in their stamina training, you were starting to feel the results. You were starting to get the hang of it but... damn if this week hadn't been rough.

You hadn't been able to stop by Grillby's in a while and you were craving a drink.

And while, yes, maybe drowning your troubles in magic liquor wasn't the healthiest idea, but right now you literally could not care less.

You'd been in this town for almost a month and the bar was familiar and comfortable. You were about to head to the bar, but the sight of a familiar skeleton had you freezing in your tracks.

It was the same skeleton from the grocery store this morning.

He's short, and looks a lot like Blueberry, but he's got sharp teeth and a gold tooth. He actually reminds you a lot of BBQ. It's like Bluberry and BB fused together and it's really strange.

He caught sight of you too and looked shocked.

And suddenly you feel very awkward. What do you say now? ‘Hey, buddy I’m glad I didn’t have to arrest you??’

The skeleton stares at you with a serious and guarded look. He looks away, contemplative, then seems to come to a decision. He turns his head back at you but this time, he grins and motions to the seat beside him. An invitation.

You were feeling a little sheepish but your curiosity won out and you took a seat beside him.

“well, well, fancy meetin’ you here.” He lifted up his hands in the air. “am I under arrest?”

You laugh. “Nope. Not yet anyway.” You try to sound a little playful.

The skeleton chuckles beside you. “well, i guess i wouldn’t mind you puttin’ me in handcuffs.”

The casual pickup line catches you off guard and you nearly choke on your own spit. Your face flushed and he’s barely holding back his laughter, as he snorts at your overreaction. “What the hell, do you practice those pickup lines or what?”

_ You can’t remember the last time someone actually hit on you… _

He shrugs, “nah, it all comes naturally.” He offers his hand to you. “I’m red.”

You reach out to take his hand, reintroducing yourself. “I’m-“

** _ BZZZZZZZT!! _ **

You snatch your hand back at the shock and notice the joy buzzer in Red’s hand. It gets a startled laugh out of you before you cover it up with the best scowl you had. “Wow, really.”

You swear if his smile gets any wider his entire skull will split in half.

Grillby’s in front of you and you’re about to order a drink when the skeleton beside you interrupts your order.

It's not like you have to work tomorrow.

“hey grilbs, get us some shots will ya?”

You almost go against Red’s order and just get your own drink but choose to let it go and add a burger and fries to the order. You don't have to work tomorrow anyway.

You and Grillby had come to a sort of unspoken agreement where he, unless you asked for something specific, would surprise you with a different magical drink. So far your favorite combination was the one with yellow and green magic liquor with a drop of red that swishes around in the drink like a cherry. The first taste was sour but followed by a sweet, tangy aftertaste. And the drop of red liquor was warm and almost spicy. It was a strange combination that had really grown on you.

“figured I owed you a drink.” Red’s voice was a little softer than before. “...y’now for this mornin’.”

“…I was just doing my job, You don’t owe me anything.” You reply with sincerity.

Your argument with your fellow officer took over ten minutes. From the surveillance video, it was obvious that the skeleton had saved the kid. He was in the middle of putting the kid down on the ground when the woman came running back. But her fellow officer kept disagreeing with you. He didn't outright say that the skeleton was kidnapping the boy but he was pushing for arresting them anyway. You had been wearing him down for a while but the final push seemed to be when the manager meekly agreed with you.

He didn't want them to be innocent but he didn't have enough to call them guilty.

You got the stink eye from your coworkers later, but you didn't regret it.

You shake your head, wanting to forget about work, and quickly try to change the mood back to casual. “I’ll still take that drink, though.”

With perfect timing, Grillby places some shot glasses, filled to the brim with red magic liquor, in front of both of you and you attempt to take an entire shot in one go. You manage it, but just barely.

Red grins and easily takes his first shot.

Who knows how long any many shots later, you're beyond buzzed now. You don't think that you're full-on drunk but you've already had too much and you push your last shots at Red, who's skull is flushed but is otherwise still going strong. “Okay, okay, you win!”

Red promptly finishes the final shots, one after another, and you're laughing. “Show off.”

His bone brow rises in a questioning look. “You gonna be okay getting home?”

You sigh, “Yeah, I'll be fine. I just-” Your eyes trail down to the half-finished burger and remaining fries. “I need to finish this.” You hadn't really eaten since breakfast. After the... incident at the grocery store, you decided to avoid the break room.

You think the food helped a little but you were still unsteady on your feet.

_ Maybe drinking your frustration away at a monster bar isn't a very healthy thing to do... _

“hey pal, look, maybe I give you a ride home or somethin' or call someone to pick you up...”

“Don't know anybody who... who would wanna pick me up...” You murmured, almost to yourself, and it stuck you how truly alone you felt since... when did it start for you? Before you even came to this shitty awful town. _ Alone... with nobody to ask for help... and you can't even blame your ex for that... no...you did it aaaaall yourself. _And now Red's looking at you funny. “Wh-what?”

He cleared his throat, and couldn't seem to look you in the face. “i uh, asked if you needed me to take you home.”

You considered the offer. A tiny voice in your head can barely be heard over the fog of alcohol in your brain telling you that_ trusting a person you just met to take you home is a bad idea and- _

“Y-yeah... okay.”

* * *

Red helped the human, a little awkwardly after that drunken confession of loneliness and isolation that you hadn't seemed to realize you gave him. You were fumbling with your wallet. “nah, I got this.” He looked over to Grillby and was caught off guard by the look on the fire monsters face.

The guy actually looked angry, he hadn't seen that kind of expression since the last time he's seen his Grillby back in his own universe.

“......make sure the human gets home.... _ safely _.” There was a warning in his tone that threatened retribution. He hadn't realized the soft spot Grillby seemed to have for this human.

What this sugary sweet version of Grillby could actually do to him was up for debate but Red felt himself starting to sweat. “c'mon, give me some credit-”

And now you were blearily staring at the money in your hands with confusion. “How... how much is...?”

“n-nah don't worry i've got-”

You seem to give up entirely on trying to decide what to give him and just put all your money, and your wallet, on the bar. “Thanks, Grillby~ the- the food was awesome and your drinks are awesome and I love your bar- you're-”

Oh god, you were_ way _more drunk then he thought.

During your drunken ramble, Grillby carefully put all your money back into your wallet before handing it back to you. “.....your change.”

Your face lit up and you gave him a bright smile. “Thanks!”

As Red led you out of the bar he looked back at Grillby. “you know whose tab to put it on!”

It took a while to get you home. With how drunk you were your directions were way less than coherent. And he tried to take as few shortcuts as possible because he couldn't be sure you wouldn't vomit all over him. And yeah, he kind of owed you one but not 'I'll let you puke on me' gratitude. But, finally, when the two of you reached an apartment complex that looked like something out of one of those terrible human horror movies-

“HERE! We're here!”

Red cringed at the sight, back home this would be exactly the type of place where someone would try to ambush him, but he'd come this far. So, he sucked it up and took you up the few flights of stairs up to your apartment and when your unsteady hands couldn't quite manage to get the key in the lock, he did it for you.

Your apartment was dark and... surprisingly free of furniture. Other then the couch, the coffee table with some books and a laptop, there wasn't much else in the living room, and from the little he could see of your room down the hall, it looked just as bare.

Even _he_ had some art on the walls back home- yeah, it's because his brother went out of his way to buy some- but damn, buy a rug or something.

“Um... thanks for getting me home. I'm not- I don't usually get-”

He can feel another long ramble coming from you, so he helps you over to your couch.

He considers just leaving... but decides to check your soul.

** LV 1 **

** HP: 20 **

** ATK: 10 DEF: 10 **

** *TOO WEAK TO RESIST. EASY EXP. **

Red winces at the description. No matter how much time passed by he never quite lost that kill or be killed mentality... even if it was just in the back of his mind...

With a start, he realizes you're still talking. “d-don't worry about it.” He walks back to the door, locked it, and leaves your keys on the coffee table. “get some rest, pal.”

He's waiting for you to look away so he can take a shortcut back outside but you're staring at him. “h-hey wanna see something cool?”

You giggle. “Hell yeah.”

He winks at you. “Close your eyes and count to three.”

Even in your drunken stupor, you have the sense to look a little suspicious he can practically see the gears turning in your head before you finally cover your eyes. “One-”

He shortcuts outside your apartment and he can still hear your count.

“Two.”

“Three.”

As he starts to head downstairs he's pretty sure he hears you falling off the couch.

He checks his phone to see exactly where he is...

This place isn't very far from the forest where the lodge is. Maybe thirty or forty minutes if you were driving.

After the incident this morning and talking to you, he was pretty sure that Mutt was right. That you weren't a threat.

But still...

Maybe it was just a bad habit, but part of him can't help wondering if there was some ulterior motives behind your noble actions and kind smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm hesitating to actually publish this story, and I've decided that I at least need have a pretty solid idea of where this story is going by the end of the next chapter. (I have ideas but not sure how they'll fit together) Guess if you're reading this, it went well. XD


	5. Chapter 5

When you wake up to your alarm the next morning, with your head aching and a little bit nauseous, you decided that it was time that you finally addressed an issue.

You might have a problem.

While it was true that the only reason you drank so much last night was because Red was egging you on and ordering more shots, you had to face the fact that you had been drinking too much lately and you needed to cutback, hard. So, for now, no more magical cocktails.

And definitely no more shots.

You decide to take a shower and then maybe try to get some breakfast. Wasn't greasy food supposed to help? Maybe find a diner for some eggs and bacon. You really needed to start cooking actual food at home. Not just eating cereal and canned soup.

After your shower, thankfully your nausea had mostly died down, and you noticed some messages on your phone.

** red: ** hope you're not too sick from last night

** red: **you really let loose

You were confused, at first, but then vaguely remember giving Red your phone.

Yeah, sorry about that.

And sorry that you had to get me home

** red: **don't worry about it

** red: **you seemed like you had a lot on your mind.

** Red: **ya know they say liquor can't solve all your problems

** red: **but it's worth a shot

Yeah, no.

I'm swearing off liquor for now.

You're just finishing getting dressed when it hits you-

OMFG I just realized that was a pun

You'd been a little late meeting up with Blue and Papyrus but they didn't seem upset at all... if fact, they looked excited. _Suspiciously excited. _ When they saw you walking up the path both of them seemed to jump to attention and grin.

Papyrus ran up to you. “WELCOME, FRIEND! TODAY, WE'VE DECIDED NOT TO HAVE OUR STAMINA TRAINING WITH YOU!”

You were confused and even a little disappointed but any disappointment is immediately replaced by relief at the idea that you could take a break today-

Blueberry came up to your other side. “INSTEAD-”

_ Oh god. _

“THE TWO OF US WANTED YOU-”

_ Please. _

“TO TRY OUR PUZZLES!”

They spoke the last part at the same time, with equal excitement, and they're looking at you expectantly. Your mind is racing and you start to feel nauseous again. Your mind is racing for some way, any way to get out of this.

But when the excitement starts to wilt from the two skeletons' faces, any excuses you could come up with vanished.

You smile weakly. “Sure. Sounds fun.”

You're not sure how long they had been planning this... maybe since the morning, they met you. Though you can't imagine a setup this elaborate being set up in less than a full week.

“DON'T BE INTIMIDATED BY OUR MASTERY OF PUZZLES!” Papyrus called to you from the other side of the obstacle coarse from hell. “I'M SURE YOU WILL SUCCEED!”

“DO YOUR BEST!!” Blueberry added cheerfully.

From where you were standing, there were four sections of puzzles. Looking at all of them was starting to feel overwhelming, so you decided to focus on one at a time.

The first puzzle appeared to be a very big, recently dug pit. Through the center of the pit, from one side to the other, were several long bones pointed upward and at the bottom, you could make out piles of fallen leaves. The bones didn't look like they could support your weight and you weren't sure you had the agility to jump from one to another without falling.

At first, you were wondering how the heck you were supposed to cross it since you assumed going around it would be cheating until you spotted some strange, rather large, things laying all over the sides around the pit. They looked like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Moving back to the front of the bridge you noticed a strangely shaped indentation at the foot of the pit...

The puzzle required you to make your own bridge, using the large puzzle pieces!

It took longer than you expected to find the right pieces. At first, you tried to build the bridge as you solved it but instead chose to assemble the puzzle first and then try to assemble it.

Another problem, making the puzzle more difficult was the fact that there were clearly more pieces here than you actually needed. And you couldn't be sure which piece would be the final piece of the bridge.

Once you were sure all but the final piece was assembled, you began to build the bridge. Turns out the bones through the pit were set up like scaffolding, supporting the pieces and keeping them in place. All you had to do was slip them into their proper order and they seemed to snap into place. When you had the first two pieces set up, you tested the bridge to see how it felt. The construction and design were solid. You barely felt it move from your attempts to shake it.

It took a lot of going back and forth but overall, not too hard.

“GREAT JOB!” Blueberry looked ecstatic. “YOU SOLVED MY PUZZLE.”

“YES INDEED! BUT NOW YOU MUST SOLVE THE PUZZLE CREATED BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS!” The grin he gave you had an almost cartoonish level of mischief. _ Did he always have eyebrows? _

“Okay, bring it on.” You declare _ halfheartedly _.

“PREPARE YOURSELF! FOR....”

He pauses dramatically.

“JUNIOR JUMBLE! PAPYRUS EDITION!”

Sure enough, Papyrus had painstakingly created a junior jumble for you. Junior jumble turning out to be a kind of word scramble. There was a handmade copy laying on a small blanket with a pencil. This was way too easy and kind of a let down after the previous puzzle. You kneel down to the ground and start unscrambling the words and phrases.

'THE GREAT PAPYRUS'

'SPAGHETTI'

'MASTER OF PUZZLES'

'TWO STEPS LEFT'

_ Wait, what? _

'FOUR STEPS TO THE RIGHT'

'PICK UP YOUR SOCKS'

You stare at the answers before staring back at Papyrus, who's still grinning at you. You're starting to get the sneaking suspicion that there's more to this puzzle then meets the eye.

It's only now that you notice some kind of distortion between you and Papyrus. You reach out and your fingers touch something invisible and solid.

Papyrus laughs and strikes a pose. “YES, YOU'VE FIGURED IT OUT! YOU THOUGHT YOU WOULD ONLY HAVE TO SOLVE THE NOTORIOUSLY DIFFICULT JUNIOR JUMBLE MADE BY THE GREAT PAPYRUS! BUT YOU WILL ALSO HAVE TO FIND THE HOLE IN AN INVISIBLE WALL!”

You put both of your hands up and, sure enough, there was some kind of large invisible wall between you and Papyrus and Blueberry.

“How the heck did you make an invisible wall!?”

“MAGIC!”

Why did you even ask?

After solving the junior jumble, you started following all the directions. Two steps left, four steps right, step over the invisible box-

Most of the instructions contradicted each other and resulted in you moving back and forth along the wall until, finally, you found the hole. It was just below your chest but higher than your knees and you pulled yourself through it.

“CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE SOLVED MY INCREDIBLE PUZZLE!” Papyrus looks genuinely pleased. “YOU DIDN'T EVEN NEED ME TO GIVE YOU ANY HINTS!”

Blueberry interjects, practically vibrating with excitement. “BUT IT'S NOT OVER YET! THERE'S STILL ONE MORE PUZZLE FOR YOU TO SOLVE, CREATED BY BOTH OF US!”

You took a breath. “Okay, let's do this.”

The final obstacle appeared to be a maze of bones. The bones are three different colors; white, blue, and orange. When you take a step closer you can see that the white bones are solid, while the orange and blue bones were somewhat see through.

You carefully touch one of the white bones, and it is indeed solid. You try to touch the orange bone and your hand goes right through it, but as soon as your hand stops while still touching the bone you feel a stinging pain like an insect stung you, and you pull your hand back. You reach out to the blue bone to touch it with your finger and, to your surprise, even though your finger slips right through the bone, any movement causes a similar stinging pain.

“OH! AND DON'T WORRY ABOUT GETTING HURT!” Blueberry called out as you brought your finger to your mouth to suck on it.

“WE HAVE PREPARED SOME MONSTER SNACKS JUST IN CASE!” Papyrus waves a basket full, presumably full of food, to emphasize the point.

You're not sure what that means. “Okay!”

Now that you have a good idea of what the bones actually do, you moved to the start of the maze.

You understood the basics of the maze. Every few steps you'd come to a choice of which direction to go. In order to move that direction, you had to push the white bones with you as you went forward, like a revolving door. However, the true challenge was the orange and blue bones that were also connected to the revolving doors.

Like, if you moved through a revolving door on the left, the path to the right would be blocked with blue or orange bones. The orange bones weren't really a problem, as you could run right through them, but the blue bones often had you backtracking.

And the bone doors would only turn when you went fully through them. You couldn't just go through a door then push the door back into place to clear a path. The puzzle was hard and required you to think two or three steps ahead to solve it. You may have resorted to brute-forcing your way through sometimes, giving up on thinking it through to just move on instinct, which usually turned out badly for you but actually worked a few times.

Right before the exit was a horizontal blockade of orange bones with a single blue bone across the top at your chest.

You were probably meant to just crouch through it but grinned as an idea occurred to you.

Instead of just crawling or couching down you walked up to the wall, carefully spread your feet apart, and limboed right under the final blockade and out to freedom.

Blueberry and Papyrus clapped and cheered for you and you couldn't help blushing. You actually felt pretty good.

But as their praises slowly petered out, you became aware of someone new approaching.

“YES, VERY IMPRESSIVE. IF YOU THINK BABYBONES PUZZLES ARE A CHALLENGE.” He was short and looked a lot like Blueberry but his face was scarred and he was dressed in black and dark reds.

_ How many skeletons live in this town??? _

Papyrus seemed shocked at this new skeleton's arrival. Blueberry looked a lot less shock but the smile was gone from his face. “WHAT BRINGS YOU HERE, BLACK?”

This new skeleton, apparently named Black- _ what was with these weird names for skeletons?- _smirked at Blueberry and Papyrus. “WHAT? DID YOU THINK YOU WERE BEING SUBTLE? GALLAVANTING AROUND THE FOREST WITH A HUMAN? BUILDING THIS-” He gave a flippant wave of his hand. “PLAYPEN TO CHALLENGE THEM WITH?”

“I-ITS NOT A PLAYPEN-” Papyrus looked a little crestfallen and that... actually upset you.

Black ignored Papyrus and finally turned to face you. “WELL HUMAN? IF YOU WANT AN ACTUAL CHALLENGE, THEN YOU'LL TRY TO SURVIVE MY TRAPS!”

His... traps?

Had he prepared some kind of alternative obstacle coarse? Why? To show you up? Or to show up Papyrus and Blueberry? What the heck was this guy's problem, coming out of the shadows and acting like a supervillain from a bond movie?

You considered just saying no but...

If you beat him, you could tell him that his traps were easy and maybe knock his ego down a peg.

You shrug. “Sure.”

Papyrus and Blueberry seem surprised. “H-HOLD ON!” Papyrus runs to your side. “UM- MAYBE IT WOULD BE BETTER IF YOU! DIDN'T! DO THAT!

You sat Papyrus's shoulder and give him a wink. “Don't worry, I've got this under control.”

Black grins, showing off his sharp teeth. “IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU'RE CONFIDENT, BUT WE'LL SEE HOW LONG THAT LASTS!”

Black turns his back to you and walks away from you, motioning for you to follow behind. You do, but pause when you spot another figure that you hadn't noticed before. It was BBQ, standing off to the side, he was staring at you and only looked away when Black passed by him. After that, turning around and followed him.

“MUTT HAS INFORMED ME-” Black's sharp tone brings your attention back to him. “THAT YOU'RE A MEMBER OF THE HUMAN GUARD OR- OR RATHER THEIR POLICE.”

You glance to look at BBQ's back again. “You two know each other?”

Black didn't bother to look back at you as he answered. “OF COURSE, HE'S MY BROTHER.”

_ Something about this is strange. Are all these skeletons related? Or- Wait... _

“You call your own brother Mutt?” That came out a little more accusingly then you mean it to.

Black actually stops at the tone of your voice and finally turns to face you, he's sneering but the look drops at the sight of you. You're glaring, you know you are, but you can't help it. Maybe you could see Mutt as a shitty nickname given by callous 'friends' but getting called something so demeaning by your own family?

….maybe it hit a little close to home.

At least Black seems to have to decency to look a little... not guilty per se but conflicted. “I...” He seems at a loss for words.

“better than barbecue.” His tone sounds casual but the way he seems suddenly fascinated with a stain on the sleeve of his hoodie led you to believe that he wasn't very comfortable with this conversation.

You decide to leave it, for now. “Well, better get used to it because I am never calling you Mutt.” You look back to Black. “How much further??”

Black regains his composure and the cocky smirk is back. “ALMOST THERE, HUMAN.”

After about a minute or two of walking, during which you realized Blueberry and Papyrus were following both of you, Black turns to face you, his arms spread out like he was showing you something amazing but...

You didn't see anything.

Black steps aside for you. “THERE, SEE THAT TREE? ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS REACH IT.”

You do see it. A tree with a large X painted onto it.

You cast an unimpressed glance at Black and walk passed him. “So, where are these puzzles supposed to-”

Something snaps, you feel something wrap around your right shoe and your body was painfully pulled upwards, the world suddenly upside down.

You hear your name shouted by two very concerned voices and a laugh.

“I TOLD YOU, HUMAN, THEY'RE TRAPS! NOT A PATHETIC PUZZLE!” As the blood starts rushing to your head you see Black turn to his brother. “IF THIS IS THE BEST THAT THE HUMAN GUARD IS CAPABLE OF, MONSTERS HAVE NOTHING TO BE CONCERNED OVER.”

Papyrus and Blueberry are running over to help you.

“No! Don't!” You put your hand out. “Don't help me!”

You look up to see a thin wire wrapped tightly around your shoe. You figure you were lucky that it didn't go around your ankle and that it was only one foot, so you could still get out, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

You reach up and manage to loosen your shoe's laces, and the slack is just enough for you too, painfully, land back on the ground.

Through aches and pains, you push yourself up and back on your feet. Your shoe was still dangling in the snare but you didn't try to reach for it. Instead, you decided to gather supplies.

“WHAT ARE YOU-” Black started to say but you tuned him out.

You grabbed a fairly thick, long, stick and a handful of decently heavy rocks.

You turned back to the trail of trap and walked forward, carefully. Using the stick to poke at suspicious areas and the rocks to throw at areas further away than you were unsure about.

There were at least three more snare traps, and twice you had to find new sticks when the ones you were using were snatched out of your hands. Some traps launched bones at you, one actually hit you in the gut and you doubled over for a moment as the breath was knocked out of you.

All the while Black shouted Backhanded praise at you.

“YOU'RE NOT AS TERRIBLE AS I THOUGHT HUMAN.”

Just when you were getting close to the tree you felt something sink under your foot. The pressure plate activated and a ring of blue bones shot up in a circle all around you.

“WELL, WELL. CONGRATULATIONS. YOU ALMOST MADE IT.”

Black's arrogant tone was just enough to push you into doing something foolish.

You knew it would hurt, but you ran forward barreling through the blue bones and holding back your scream as that horrible pain wracked through literally every part of your body. You collapsed on the other side, gasping and shivering.

You look back and can make out genuine surprise on Black's face.

_ Take that... jerk... _

You push yourself up to your feet, unsteadily and walk to the tree, you feel a bit desperate to finish this dumb-

** _ CRRRRRRACKKKK _ **

The ground collapses under you and you're too weak to stop yourself from falling or to grab something.

A surprised yelp escaped you just as a hand reaches out and grabs your arm. Your feet hit the edge of the pit and your body is at a sharp angle, you grip the arm holding you-

You find yourself looking into BB's face.

You're not sure what you're expecting him to do but, when he does nothing but keep you from falling into the pit, you laugh a little nervously. “Uh, are you gonna pull me up or...?”

His head lulls to the side. “hmmm dunno. what will you give me to pull you up?”

That surprised you. “Uuh, what do you want?”

“that's a good question. what can you do for me?”

You give him a disapproving look, trying not to smile. “You know that trying to bribe a police officer is illegal right?”

He's smirking now. “i can think of a few other things you can do for me... that has nothing to do with your job.”

For some reason- _ that has nothing to do with what he just said- _ you feel your face flush. You decide to counter his teasing by countering it by ignoring it altogether. “Is this because I didn't drink your barbecue sauce? Because if it is you better drop me now because there's no way I'm drinking that crap. I have _ some _ standards.”

You felt a little pride at the fact that you got him to snort with laughter before his face went back to the sardonic smirk you were used to.

“STOP FLIRTING AND JUST PULL THEM UP!” Black snapped, suddenly beside them.

Without hesitation, he pulled you up and you took a few shaky, uneven steps away from the pit. You ignore the comment about flirting.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?” Papyrus was suddenly beside you.

Blueberry pushed something into your hands. “EAT THIS, YOU'LL FEEL BETTER.”

You did feel kind of terrible so while Blueberry scolded Black and Papyrus fussed over you, you examined the food item in your hand. It looked like a cinnamon bun but it was shaped like a bunny? Weird, but okay. You take a bite and it's pretty good! But when you swallow, something strange happens, it's like the food vanishes completely and you feel a surge of energy that soothes the ache in your limbs. You'd heard monster food was different because it was made of magic but it was pretty cool.

Now to put your business face on. “Black.” You try to put on as much authority in your voice as possible.

The conversation stopped as all the skeletons looked at you.

“I get that traps and puzzles are an important part of monster culture, however, you can get in serious trouble for it on the surface, especially on land that you don't own."

Blackberry huffs dissmissivly. "OF COURSE WE OWN IT."

You guve him a quesitoning look. "The whole forest?"

"YES!" Papyrus's shout caught you off guard. He's ususally loud but you weren't expecting that level of volume. "I MEAN, NO, NOT ALL OF IT. BUT PART OF THE FOREST CAME WITH THE LODGE."

_There's a lodge?_

Black's glare at Papyrus causes him to suddenly clam up.

It wasn't unheard of for monsters to have a good ammount of money from the exchange of gold for human currency that happened when monsters came to the surface. So, their story was, at least , plausible. So, you decide to ignore the obvious waring signs. "Well, even if you own it, if an unaware bystander stumbles into one they could be hurt. Even if it's just some bruises, you could end up having to deal with some legal trouble. I'd suggest adding some signs warning people that there are traps on your property and, if anyone asks,” You motion to the traps. “Tell them that these are for coyotes or bears or something.”

They all stare at you for a moment and you shrug. “I am a cop, you know.” You look over to Papyrus and Blueberry. “You guys should try to keep that in mind too.”

Papyrus nods. “OF COURSE! WE DON'T WANT ANYONE TO GET HURT.”

Black looks away. “WHAT'S THE POINT OF TRAPING INTRUDERS IF YOU WARN THEM BEFOREHAND?”

You shrug. “How about not getting sued or arrested?”

* * *

You didn't see him watching you, none of you did.

The figure began wringing his hands.

He had spent so much time wanting to meet with the skeletons in the lodge, he'd never seen a universe with so many of them in one place. It looked like fun and maybe they would want to be friends!

But... what if they didn't?

He'll admit that he doesn't look his best but...

His eyes find your face again. You were smiling as the skeletons were fussing over you and it occurred to him...

Maybe you could be the answer he was looking for...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well I made it to chapter 5 so I guess I'm posting this XD
> 
> I hope you enjoyed those puzzles because I AM NEVER DOING THAT AGAIN. That was way harder then it should have been.
> 
> Also, what would be the absolute worst song someone could catch you singing? No particular reason why I'm asking don't worry about it.


	6. Chapter 6

Sans dropped what he was working on, staring at Stretch with wide empty sockets. “w-what... did- what was that?”

Stretch's hands were firmly in his hoodie pockets and wouldn't look him in the eye. “the cop. they've been running in the morning with sans uh blue and paps for a few weeks now...”

Sans felt a shiver run down his spine. “how long have you... known about this?”

Stretch rubbed at the back of his neck. “uh... a while...”

Sans took a breath, trying not to freak the fuck out. “then _why _didn't you tell me?”

“blue says he had the situation under control-”

Sans turned around to head upstairs, leaving Stretch stammering behind him to find Blue.

“sans wait-”

But Sans wasn't listening. He was trying not to panic, to keep calm, but how was he supposed to deal with this?

This situation, all his fault.

The lives of everyone he'd affected, his responsibility.

And any negative repercussions that happened because of what he did, would also be his fault, his responsibility. If the humans found out about the machine- if this cop was suspicious of them, getting close to them if they found out and told-

“blue!”

Blue was sitting at the dining room table. His expression dropping at the sight of Sans. “SANS? IS THERE SOMETHING WRONG?”

“i- you-” Sans needed to calm down- _ He was so damn tired- _he needed to get this situation under control. “why are you bringing that cop so close to the lodge?”

Blue's look of concern melted into a smile that was almost pitying. “IT'S FINE, SANS, I'VE GOT THE SITUATION UNDER CONTROL.”

_ Since when had Sans ever really been in control? Wasn't his desire to control the reason he was in this mess in the first place? _

“blue- this isn't just some random human.” He mentions your name-

“SANS?” Papyrus comes into the room, holding a pot full of god knows what, and when he says your name, it puts Sans even more on edge. “ARE WE TALKING ABOUT THEM? HAVE YOU MET?”

"n-no pap. i was just saying that we should keep the cop away from the lodge-” He can't help but glare at Blue, who looks unconcerned. “not invite them over-”

“SANS, I’M NOT BRINGING THEM TO THE LODGE. I’M KEEPING AN EYE SOCKET ON THEM.” Blue shrugged. “IT’S BETTER THAT THEY’RE UNDER OUR SUPERVISION WHEN THEY COME BY. WE DON’T OWN THE ENTIRE FOREST AROUND THE LODGE, ANYWAY.”

Sans inwardly cringes. He still hasn’t told them that they don’t actually own the lodge. Just imagining that conversation exhausts him even more.

“WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” Edge, with Red not far behind, file into the increasingly smaller space. “WHAT ARE YOU ARGUING ABOUT?”

He can’t deal with this right now, he really can’t. “we’re not arguing-“

Papyrus’s boisterous voice easy drowns Sans’s out. “IT SEEMS THAT SANS IS WORRIED ABOUT OUR HUMAN FRIEND GETTING TOO CLOSE TO THE LODGE-“

Edge’s scowl became more severe. “YOU’VE BEEN BRINGING A HUMAN TO THE LODGE!?”

Blue sighs, like this situation, is so unreasonable. “NO- NO WE HAVEN'T. A HUMAN MEETS WITH PAPYRUS AND I FOR THE LAST HOUR OF OUR MORNING TRAINING-“

“WAIT- WHAT WAS THAT HUMAN’S NAME?” The puzzled look on Edge’s face does not inspire confidence. When Blue repeats your name there’s something on Edge’s face, a kind of vague recognition. “THAT NAME SOUNDS FAMILIAR…”

“uh, yeah boss. It’s that human from the store last week.” Red explains to his brother as Sans breaks out in a sweat.

They’ve met Paps, Blue, Red, Edge, _ and _Mutt? “wait, what happened at the store?”

Red shrugs. “uh, well… we uh… almost got arrested.”

Sans can feel his eye-lights go out as the idea of Red and Edge being arrested fully sets in. “what the hell did you do!?” His voice comes out harder then he means to. “why didn’t you tell us about this?”

Edge scoffs. “NOTHING! IT WAS A MISUNDERSTANDING. AND THERE WAS NO REASON TO TELL YOU.”

Sans takes a steadying breath and looks from Edge to Red. “what, specifically, happened?”

Red explains the basics of what happened at the store, conveniently skipping over what exactly they did to get the cops involved. Though that may have been because of Edge, who had been glaring at his brother. Apparently, he didn’t want whatever they did to be known, but that wasn’t important. What was important was you.

Sans felt sick. What were the chances? What were the odds that you would be there to bail out Red and Edge? What were the chances that the same cop that had been showing up at Grillby's, started hanging out with his brother, and just so happened to be there when they needed you to keep them out of jail? It couldn’t just be a coincidence, right?

But apparently, his brother didn’t see it that way, because he turned to Sans with a bright smile. “THERE, YOU SEE? THERE’S NOTHING TO BE WORRIED ABOUT! THEY’RE A GOOD PERSON SANS.”

Edge crosses his arms. “WELL, IT DOES SEEM A LITTLE… SUSPICIOUS.”

Red seems hesitant to add more to the conversation. “well… personally, uh, might’ve had a few drinks with 'em.”

All eyes snap to Red and now it’s his turn to sweat. “they uh, showed up at grillby’s when i was there, so i invited them for a few drinks. they got uh- pretty drunk, actually, humans can’t hold their liquor, ya know. at least not the magic ones- and i ended up takin' them home. they actually live pretty close to the end of the woods-“ Red rubs the back of his head as he starts rambling. “but, uh, what i’m tryin' to say is i don’t think they’re up to anything.”

“YOU’RE SURE ABOUT THAT, SANS?” Edge accidentally calls Red by his real name but the moment passes as Red grins.

“yeah, at least enough to where i’d bet money on it.”

Edge seems to consider this before nodding, “IF MY BROTHER THINKS THE HUMAN HAS NO ULTERIOR MOTIVES, THEN I BELIEVE HIM.” Edge looks back to Sans. “AND PERSONALLY, AFTER HAVING MET THIS HUMAN, I WOULD AGREE.”

Sans shakes his head. He would love to believe this human is nothing to worry about but if they’re wrong-

Best case scenario, they have to abandon the lodge and find a new place to stay-

Worst case scenario-

_ Don't think about it. _

Sans jolted at the sudden hand on his shoulder, only to find himself looking into the sockets of his brother. Paps was smiling. “SANS, IF YOU’RE THAT WORRIED, MAYBE YOU SHOULD MEET THEM YOURSELF! I’M SURE YOU’LL SEE THAT THERE’S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.”

Sans considers his brother’s advice for a moment before a sigh escapes him. He doesn’t want to. All his instincts are screaming to do the exact opposite.

But…

“y-yeah, you’re right.”

This was going to be a long day for Sans.

* * *

Something weird was going on in this town.

Calls had been coming in sporadically throughout the week but last night, all through the morning, and well into the afternoon the station was getting hammered with calls from concerned or just iissed off citizens. At first, it started out as a handful of noise complaints but it soon became clear that noise was just the tip of the iceberg.

The ungodly noise was caused by some kind of serious malfunction with electronics. It wasn't just in one place, either. All through the town were these strange malfunctions. TVs, radios, phones, laptops, game consoles, everything that runs on electricity seemed to be glitching out. The sound coming from them a garbled mess that was absolutely deafening. No one had any idea what the hell caused it and no one had any idea how to fix it.

The only way to top the sound was by unplugging the glitching out tech or letting the battery die and, even after that, there were still errors and glitches. A complete reset seemed to fix most of the issues but many found themselves in need of a new computer and you sincerely felt terrible for those people. Though getting screamed at by extremely upset civilians was not your favorite way to spend the day.

And it only got worse from there.

There had been several accidents today because, surprise surprise, the street lights were also glitching out. Luckily, the worst anyone got was a few broken bones. It could have been so much worse.

Thank goodness the hospital seemed to have been passed over by whatever the hell was causing all of this.

It was the weirdest thing. Phones going off all day, calls from all over town, all about accidents and the weird technology glitches. From the electronics store not far from your apartment to Grillby's on the other side of town. ...Strangely enough, all the incidents seemed to be focused on areas around your route.

And then it stopped.

As quickly as it started, it all just stopped.

No one had any idea what happened. There were plenty of theories around the station, like hackers or some kind of EMP that caused the damage, and of course, there were the assholes pointing fingers at the monsters. But with no proof, no evidence of anything that could have caused the damage, eventually you and your fellow officers just had to call it a day and go home.

You'd even had to work a few hours overtime.

You'd almost decided to skip going to Grillby's but you really just wanted to relax- _ and at this point, the small monster bar felt more like home then your crappy apartment- _and you could really use a- burger.

You were going to get a burger.

When you walked through the door you could feel the tension from the day melting away. Instead of your usual place at the bar, you decided you were going to take a seat at a booth.

“Hey Grillby, could I get a burger and some fries?” The fire monster didn't respond but nodded. “Oh! Uh, and no drinks tonight.”

You swear you heard the fire monster chuckle. “..........good.”

The booth was a lot comfier than the bar, that's for sure.

“here's your order, pal.”

Your burger and fries were placed in front of you but not by Grillby.

In front of you was a skeleton, a new one, or at least one that you've never spoken to before. He looked kind of like blue if Blue decided to have a lazy day after he hadn't slept for a week.

“Uh, thanks.”

He didn't look like he worked here-

He says your name, a little too casually. “that's your name, isn't it?”

You nod, carefully. “Yep. Sure is.”

“the name's sans. heard a lot about you from grillby and my bro, papyrus.”

This guy was Papyrus's brother? You can't help grinning. “Oooh, so you're the lazybones I've heard so much about.”

Sans's eyes widen a fraction before he looks away. “uh, yep, guilty.” He motioned to the seat across from you. “mind if i join you?”

You had no real reason to refuse... and he was Papyrus's brother- as far as you know- so what's the harm? “Sure thing.”

Sans took a seat in the booth, making himself comfortable as you began to pick at the food in front of you. It was a little weird eating in front of someone but, to hell with it, you were hungry.

Wait, was he always holding those onion rings?

“oh yeah, almost forgot.” Sans placed a can on the table. “grillby wanted me to give you this, too.”

You took the can, examining the label. “Sea Tea?”

Sans shrugs and you decide to just go with it. You pop the tab and take a sip.

It tasted salty, almost like seawater. There was some kind of herbal taste there, too, as well as the familiar tingle that came with magic. It was... different, but good. You even felt a little more awake with every sip. You were still tired but not so exhausted where you were about to drop.

“why was the police officer sleepin' on the job?”

The question catches you off guard. “What?”

Sans winks. “because he was undercover.”

It takes longer then it should for the meaning of what he said to kick in but when it did-

“Pfft!” You barely manage to hold back a laugh. “Uh-”

“speakin' of which, you're lookin' pretty worn out.” His smile actually gets wider. “are you resisting a rest?”

You snorted, still trying to hold it back.

“i hope i'm not crossing the line here, i'd hate to be charged with attempted battery.” He waved the onion ring before taking a bite out of it.

_ Oh god, that was terrible- _You can't take much more of this.

“but if it did come to that, ya know where the best place is to lock up a skeleton?”

“I don't-”

Sans leans in like he's about to tell you a big secret. “A rib cage.”

That did it.

You cover your face but it doesn't hide the laughter bursting out of you. The jokes were awful, terrible but they came at you out of nowhere and the smugly satisfied look on the skeleton's face as you started coughing. It wasn't even that funny- _ but these last few weeks have been awful and when was the last time you get to just laugh like this over a silly pun _\- by the time the laughter peters out your face is red.

“you know-”

“No!” You cut Sans off with a shout. “I surrender, I give up, no more, please!”

Sans chuckled. “eeh, i guess i can spare ya, just this once.”

You let out a groan, embarrassed from that total loss of control. You try to cover your obvious embarrassment as you shove more fries in your mouth and wash them down with more sea tea.

You didn't talk about much in particular. Mostly he just talked about his brother with equal parts admiration and mocking. You could tell he really loved his brother but was more than willing to tease the hell out of him whenever he got the chance. You... were actually kind of jealous. They seemed to have a really good relationship.

You noticed that this skeleton's face was very hard to read. He seemed to always be smiling. You had a similar problem with Blue sometimes. He smiled a lot too, but his face seemed far more expressive than this guy. Even Red and Black were easier to gauge then this guy. Though admittedly, you hadn't known them for long. But even those brief interactions gave you an idea of their personalities.

Sans was a bit of an enigma.

He was personable, easygoing, and seemed to love his brother. But besides that and the obvious obsession with bad puns, he was hard to get a good read on.

But before you knew it, your food was gone and it was getting late.

“Well, It's been nice talking to you, Sans. But I'm dead tired and I'm gonna go home and pass out.” You grab your wallet-

“nah, i've got it.” Sans looks over the booth at Grillby. “hey there grillbs put it on my tab.” Grillby huffs, giving Sans a dry look, but Sans meets the fire monsters seemingly playful exasperation with a wink. “c'mon, don't you trust me?”

Grillby just goes back to polishing a shot glass with a small sigh that, coming from the usually silent monster, was practically theatrical.

“Thanks, Grillby.” You offer the bartender an apologetic smile. “And, uh, thanks Sans. It was nice talking to you.”

Sans, still smiling, giving you a casual wave. “see ya around.”

You really were exhausted but at least you had this weekend off. It didn't happen often with your shift rotation, just once a month, but at least the next two days you could be unconscious for as long as possible.

Most of the lights were out in your apartment building by the time you got back, which was usually the case. You looked up at your apartment window, the usual feeling of resigned dread at the sight of it. _ Someone is in your apartment. _

The light was on. In your apartment.Did you leave the light on? No, no, you're sure you didn't. In the split second after you looked up at it, the light flickered off.

_ Did something just move? _

You run. Up the two flights of stairs to your floor, the stairways completely devoid of people. When you reach your floor you take a moment to catch your breath as you take out your off duty firearm. You move down the hall, slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible. When you reached your door you pressed yourself against the wall beside the door.

_ The door's closed. No sign of forced entry. _

You, slowly, carefully move to check the door-

It's locked.

You considered stopping to call the station.

You paused to listen to any sounds coming from inside the apartment.

Nothing...

Not a single sound.

Against your better judgment, you decide to open the door. You take out your key, slowly turn the lock, and push the door in and quickly search the room. Your eyes sweep the room, and for once you're glad you have barely any furniture in your apartment._ Less things to hide behind. _You checked the corners, and behind the door, before moving down the hall. Living room and kitchen. Clear. Bathroom? Clear. Bedroom? Clear. Closet?

Clear...

For a moment you're standing in your empty room, at a loss for words.

There wasn't anywhere else to hide, was there? No. There was no one here.

But you were sure you saw something. You were_ sure _.

You search your apartment again. In every room, behind every door, out every window. Nothing.

Nothing missing. No sign of forced entry. No sign that anyone had been here since you had left this morning.

...did you really see something?

You... weren't so sure anymore.

You checked the apartment a few more times, even checking cupboards and under your bed, but still, there was nothing.

But you still felt on edge. So, instead of going straight to bed, you made some coffee, sat on the couch, and turned on some music you could relax to. The couch was against a blank wall, with a great vantage point of the room,_ so nothing can sneak up on you. _

You shake off that paranoid thought and grab a book from the table. It was left here by whoever was renting the apartment before you. The cover had been ripped off and you hadn't gotten around to really reading it.

The first chapter isn't very exciting, and it doesn't make much sense, you're starting to get the idea that this might be a book in a series since it's using the names of people and places that you don't recognize, and yet the book seems to assume you do. So you start flipping through the pages

“**_You're so tight.” Rage groaned. _ **

You close the book.

After a moment, when you take a moment to regain your barrings, you roll your eyes and toss the book away. It misses the table and slides off the edge, falling on the floor. You sigh and stand on shaky legs to reach for it-

** _ SRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKEKEKEEKEKEKKEEEE _ **

The sound pierces your ears and you almost double over in pain and surprise.

The lights are flickering, your phone and laptops are producing the garbled screeches while the screens are filled with error screens.

You grab your electronics, scrambling to turn them both off, and then shove them both in your couch cushions for good measure. Your ears are still ringing-

“HEL͏LO ̡HUM̵AN͘!”

You flinched at the sudden, booming, familiar, yet distorted voice coming from directly behind you.

“Papyrus!?”

You turn to look expecting to see Papyrus's bright smile-

_ That's not Papyrus. _

He looked like Papyrus- almost like Papyrus- but his skull was black, his teeth were blue, one of his eyes was a deep violet while the other stark white with... errors. Literal ERRORS coming out of his eye and off his body. He looked almost like an inverted picture of Papyrus but standing in your kitchen and behind him was a white- something.

It looked like the wall behind him had partially opened or collapsed and beyond the hole was white. But the hole was moving, pulsing, and the more you looked the less it seemed to be in the wall but... in front of it-

You feel like your dreaming. “Wh-who are you?” You manage to choke out. “Are you- You're not-”

The not-Papyrus grins at you. “I ͝S͞EE YO͢U'RE҉ AT A͜ LO͟S͢S̢ ҉FOR̢ WOR͜D͝S̸ ̧H̛U͜M͞A̧N͏, I UNDE͝R̷ST͞A̶ND. BU̵Ţ ͢FE͘AR̨ ̕NOT! I, THE G͘REA̴T P̶AP͠YR̸U̕S, DO ̕NOT HO̸L͜D I̷T ͞AG͟A̡I̴NST͠ ̡Y̕OU.”

He called himself Papyrus... “Why... why are you here-” You can hear the screeching from before but you think it's coming from the neighbor's room. “Are you the one causing all this?”

Not-Papyrus looks around and up at the flickering lights. “HM̛M,҉ ̢I̢'̵M ̛NO͏T͡ SURE̴.” But his eyes return to you and you feel your entire body break out in goosebumps. “B͟UT҉ I͘'͘M ͞SURE͟ I͘T̶'͡S ͞NOTH҉ING ͝TO WO͜R͜RY A̡B̡OUT.”

It was wrong. Whoever, whatever, this thing was it was wrong. It felt wrong. It was something that didn't belong and every cell in your body told you to get away from him.

“Y͞O͏U ͟SE͝Ȩ H̕U͢MA̧N̴, I HAV̡E ̨CO̵ME̸ HE҉R̴E ̸T͘O BE͏ ̵YOU̴R ͢F̛RIEND̡!”

Your frantic thoughts are halted by that declaration. “My... friend?”

The whatever-he-was smiled brightly. “YES̷! Y͟OU ͠CA͟N҉ NE͝VER͏ HAVE̴ EN̢OUG̶H͟ F̵R͟IE͞N̡D̵S!”

You lift your hands, in a playacting gesture. “L-look buddy- I don't know what you are or why you would want to be friends but-” _ but you're freaking me the fuck out and I can't handle you- _“You can't just- I can't-”

You're cut off immediately as the screeching increases from all sides. The sound bleeding through the walls. But more them that, it was the devastated look on not-papyrus's face that made you stop.

“YO̡͡U͜҉.͞.̵.̴̧͘ Y̡͡OU̡͟ ̴D҉̛͢O͟͞͝N'T ͟͡W̴̢̛A҉͠͞N͜Ţ̨ ̸TO̷͟ ͜B̵̧͘E ̷̡F͝R̸͏I̶̵EN͠D͏͢S̕͞?” His voice was even more distorted and the ERRORS seemed to spread over his body.

Something in you snaps to attention. This guy, whoever he was, he still looked like Papyrus and Papyrus was one of the sweetest people you had ever met. You couldn't be cruel to this person. Especially when he hadn't done anything wrong. If he was the cause of whatever the hell was going on, he didn't seem to be doing it intentionally.

You should just... talk to him, humor him. Then maybe call-

Crap you can't call Papyrus with your phone all messed up.

There was a lodge, right? Maybe you could find it, take him there. Maybe Papyrus knew this guy or maybe he was a monster relative.

Yeah, yeah, that's a good plan.

“No, it's okay. We, uh, we can be friends!” You speak quickly, to calm the not-Papyrus.

You feel a little relief when it seems to work, the sound quiets down and his smile becomes bright again. “OḨ!̶ GO̸O̕D!͘ I̡ M͢EA̶N͜-͞ O̷F̧ CO͡UR͢SĘ ̶Y͢O͞U̴ WANT̸ TO̡ ̸BE F͠RIEN͏D͡S!̛”

He's moving towards you.

Before you can take a step back, he's suddenly holding your hand in a vice-like grip.

“T͢H͡EN͏ IT'S ҉TIM͘E T̴O̕ G͢O!”

And now he's pulling you forward. You plant your bare feet on the kitchen floor and try to pull back but he's too strong and his grip is too tight.

“No! Nononono! Wait! Papyrus!!”

Not-Papyrus turns back and grins at you as he steps into the white hole in the world.

And he pulls you in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So a kinda scary/suspenseful cliffhanger for Halloween.
> 
> Also, hi Error!Papyrus. XD
> 
> I'm still trying to pick a nickname for him. Like Errorus or Paperror. Dunno.


	7. Chapter 7

Sans sat beside his brother at the table, waiting for Edge to bring out whatever monstrosity Edge was going to bring out of the kitchen. He'd filled up on onion rings earlier so he wouldn't be hungry but he'd still have to make a show of eating a little.

It was rare that all six of them had a meal together. Fridays were supposed to be the day that everyone made time to spend time together. It was Papyrus's idea. Which, of course, meant Sans would go along with it. _Whether he thought it was a good idea or not. _Technically, all of them were invited to come, to this day Papyrus still insisted on leaving out eight plates, but Black and Mutt had yet to join them for dinner since they'd been kicked out for fighting.

“SANS!”

Sans jolts to attention, his brother's exasperated voice snaps him back to the conversation at the table. “uh, sup bro?”

Sans feels a flush of satisfaction at his brother's annoyance. “DON'T START THAT AGAIN! I WAS ASKING HOW IT WENT? DID YOU MEET THEM?”

Oh. That.

“sure did paps.”

Papyrus perked up. “AND? DID YOU LIKE THEM?”

He thought it over. He didn't... _not_ like you. But he wouldn't go so far as to say he liked you either. But Papyrus was giving him that hopeful, pleading look and Sans couldn't let his bro down. “sure, paps, they're nice.”

Papyrus beamed at him, very pleased. “SEE, WHAT DID I TELL YOU SANS? YOU DON'T HAVE ANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT.”

Sans grins at his brother but his smile is paper-thin. “yup.”

“DO YOU FEEL BETTER SANS?”

Sans looks from his brother to Blue, who was looking at him carefully.

“do i feel better...” Sans shrugged. “yeah, i do.”

Blue smiled and seemed to accept his answer, but Sans could see the skepticism there, too.

Sans had a hard time getting along with Blue. He had Papyrus's optimism and good nature but he was still a Sans, which meant he was too smart and too observant for his good. Just like Sans. Sometimes it felt like Blue could see through him more than any other version of him that he'd met. Even Red. Maybe he and Red were too similar to see it. Too many similar blind spots. Blue, however, had an expanded perspective.

But back to you...

He_ did _felt better. He wasn't convinced that you weren't going to be a problem but, after talking with you, he didn't feel the need to pack up the machine, grab his brother, and run. He didn't trust you, but you didn't seem like a bad person.

It didn't hurt that you were the kind of person who could enjoy a bad pun.

He'd... actually followed you all day. Well, almost all day. When he saw all that... craziness with electronics he immediately assumed it had something to do with the machine and took a shortcut home. Luckily, the machine was fine. Whatever was going on in town was a human problem.

Edge came back into the room with, joy, his infamously terrible lasagna.

_ ** rrrreeeehheehehhessssssskkkkkkeeeess ** _

Sans glanced around the room. A small, high pitched squeal coming from-

The lights began to flicker-

“SANS?”

“pap-”

** _ ssssSSEEEEEEERREREEEEEE RREEEEEEEEEEKKK _ **

All the skeletons flinched at the sudden piercing sound.

Sans could see the lights, the TV, everything electronic was going absolutely crazy-

“what the hell is going on!?” Red's yelled over the sound.

Before anyone had a chance to answer, there was a flash of white.

In the air, floating in their living room, was a white hole in the air. A tear in the fabric of reality-

And someone was coming out of it.

“oh no...”

It was a Papyrus. It looked like his brother but was different. So, so different. His bones were black but more of a concern were the ERRORS that his body seemed to spawn. Like he was a living error- wait- All that chaos in town, was it from this Papyrus? Was he brought here because of the machine? Because of Sans?

Was it his fault, again?

The new Papyrus grinned down at Sans and it was only then that he realized there was another person in the room. He'd brought someone with him.

He'd brought _you_.

You struggled to pull your hand away from the new version of his brother. Eyes wide and shaking. Confused. Scared.

_ No _

Sans's eye lights have gone out. He's sweating. Mind racing.

“ḨELL̕O̡ BRO͟THE͢R̵!” The new Papyrus waved enthusiastically.

“WHO THE HELL ARE YOU!?” Edge was storming towards the intruder, looking significantly less intimidating while wearing an apron, but Red grabbed his brother's arm to stop him.

But the new Papyrus didn't seem bothered by Edge's tone or his anger. “HELL̨O̴! ̵I A͜M̢ T̴H̴E͟ G̢REAT PAPY͢RUS̶! ̡OR, RA̶THER̴, A G͘REA͏T PAPYRUS! AS̛ YOU C͝A͢N S͞EE-" He uses his hand to wave your hand. “I H͞AV҉E B̢ROU̶GH̡T͏ ̡YO͞UR HU̢MA̸N͠ FR̛IEN̢D, A͝ND̸ S͜INCE WE HAVE̕ J͏U͝S̛T͟ B̕ECO̢M͠E ̴F̴R͜I̕ȨŅD̡S̨, N̨OW I̢ ̨CAN ҉BE͠ FR̛IE̛NDS͘ W̕ITH҉ AL̢L OF̵ ̶Y̢OU̸!”

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT YOU-” Edge was cut off by Red but Sans couldn't hear the words that Sans couldn't hear.

_ No. No no no- _

He couldn't explain this to you, he couldn't cover this up-

“H-HELLO PAPYRUS.” Sans hears Blue's voice vaguely through his panic. “YOU SHOULD LET GO OF THE HUMAN-”

_ Nonononononononononono- _

What is he supposed to do now.? What can he do? Nothing. He can't fix this.

“What the hell is going on!?” Your voice, tinged with panic, cuts through the chaos.

_ Everything's ruined- _

The new Papyrus seemed confused but then laughs. “NY̴EH̶ HEH HEH͏ HEH! THAT'S R̵IGHT͞! Y͏OU ͡MU҉S̢T̷ N͝OT ͢KN̢OW͡ ̨A͞B̵OU͜T THE MA̕CHI͡NE.”

_ Oh god, please, no- _

The new Papyrus easily lifts you up into his arms, even as you're squirming to escape. “T̨HȨ MACHIN̵E͜ ͠WAS̶ ͞WH͞A͏T͝ ͞B̨ROUGHT͞ EVE͡R̡YO̕N͟E͞ H̷ER͘E,͠ TO̡ ̶B҉E͟GIN ̶W̡I̛TH͠!” 

_ Shut up- _

“WHEN̵ I SA͢W SO M͘ANY͘ OF US ͘IN ͘TH̶I̕S̵ ̢UN͢IVE͘RSE̶, I̕ K̢NEW͘ ͠I͞ ̡HAD T̕O CO͟ME͡ H̛E̶RE.͢ ͞TO͟ MEE͝T ͠THE ͟D͏IFF̡E̕R̨E͠NT ̴VE̴RSION͘S O̶F ME̸-”

_ SHUT UP- _

The new Papyrus looks at Sans. “RIGH͏T, BR͠OT̵H҉E̴R?”

“Y o u ' r e n o t m y b r o t h e r.” 

Sans regrets those words even before he finishes saying them.

His eye-lights come back into focus and he immediately tries to back peddle but any kind of apology dies when he sees the look on the new Papyrus's face.

Tears.

Oh, god, he's about to cry.

Sans knows he's made a horrible mistake.

“w-wait-”

What happens next feels like it happens too quickly and too slowly at the same time. He sees the new Papyrus cling to you, his body flickering with colors and errors and he trembles. Sans tries to reach out, to say something, say anything. But it feels like all he can do is watch as the Papyrus runs back through the white tear-

He hears you shouting, he hears Papyrus and Blue calling for you, he hears the screeching from all sides by the feedback that caused the TV and lights to burst and spark.

He sees your face.

Your fear as the tear closes.

And you're gone.

And the room goes silent.

Edge turns on Sans. “WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT THING?”

“i dunno.” Sans murmurs.

“WHERE... WHERE DID THEY GO?” Papyrus looks to Sans as if he'd have an answer.

“i... I dunno...” Sans repeats flatly.

Stretch takes a step closer to Sans. “all that noise, and the lights- did that... whoever he was, cause all that?”

“maybe...” Sans gives a non-committal shrug.

Red eyes the TV with a grimace. “seems like anything that runs on electricity went crazy around that guy-” without warning, his eye-lights go out, then he jolts. “oh shit! “ he turns to Sans. “the machine!!”

Sans flinches as the realization dawns on him. “shit!”

Sans, Red, and Stretch all sprint down to the basement. His soul feels like it's about to shatter. And when he reaches the door to the basement he can feel the door vibrating- the basement is soundproof but he can hear something screeching on the other side-

He snaps the door open.

The machine is on.

The _machine_ is _ON_.

Red freezes in the doorway and Sans pushes past him, running to the controls, desperately trying to shut it down. Nothing works. Switches, buttons, nothing's responding!

“shit shit shit shit shit-”

Stretch dives behind the machine and pulls at the cords connecting it to the power, desperately trying to pull it free and before Sans can run over to join him the cord is sliced by a red bone.

The machine stays on for another few seconds before finally shutting down.

The three of them stand in stunned silence.

“SANS?”

Papyrus, Blue, and Edge are all crowding in the door.

Blue comes to his brother's side rubbing his brother's back, soothingly.

Sans takes a second to steady himself before turning to Red. “...you know where the human's apartment is?”

Red nods. “yeah, i do.”

He feels numb. “can you go there and see if anyone's there?”

Red nods, a little hesitantly. “y-yeah.”

Sans looks over to Blue. “call black n' mutt... we need them over here.”

Blue shakes his head. “I ALREADY TRIED. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE TV AND THE MACHINE ALSO FRIED MY PHONE.”

“i'll go get them.” Stretch volunteers.

Blue keeps a hold of his brother's arm. “I'LL GO WITH YOU. I DON'T THINK ANY OF US SHOULD GO ALONE RIGHT NOW.”

Edge nods. “YOU'RE RIGHT. I'LL GO WITH MY BROTHER TO THE HUMAN'S APARTMENT.”

The others are still talking, still making plans about what to do next but Sans is staring at the machine... the machine had been on. He hadn't seen that since-

No, if he starts thinking about that now he's sure he'll dust on the spot.

One thing at a time...

A little over an hour later, all the skeletons are standing in the living room of the lodge. He and Papyrus had gone through the lodge, trying to collect the broken electronics and shattered glass from the light bulbs after scooping up the lasagna that Edge had dropped on the floor. When Blue and Stretch had come back, they went over the situation with Black and Mutt, and all of them waited for Red and Edge to get back.

And when they do, Red gave a solemn shake his head. “nothin'. no one's there.”

For a single, horrible moment, Sans feels relieved.

_ If neither of them comes back, half of his problems are solved. _

He's ashamed of himself.

“S-SANS...” Papyrus looks nervous. “WHAT... WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM? ARE THEY COMING BACK?”

Sans rubs his hands over his face looking for something to reassure his brother, something good to give him hope... but he has nothing.

“i... I don't know paps, I really don't.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sans needs a nap. He's not being as careful as he usually is.
> 
> He's always sleeping too much or too little.


	8. Chapter 8

White.

Up, down, left, right.

Everything was white.

This place was wrong.

You're still being held by not-Papyrus. His grip is crushing and you're starting to think he'll break you in half.

“Papyrus!” You try calling out to him but he doesn't respond. “PAPYRUS, YOU'RE HURTING ME!!”

The skeleton jolts and immediately drops you. “Ǫ-̕OH! FO̵R͝G͏IVE̵ ME,͏ ̕HUMA͢N͢, S̢OM͟ETI͢M͟E̷S̛ I- I ḐON̶'̛T REME̶M͞BE͟R M̕Y OWN S͏T̴RENĢTH.͘.͡.”

You scramble to your feet and back away from him. “Where are we? Where did you take me?” You sound panicked. You are, you're panicking. _Calm down! _

Not-Papyrus looks around at the empty white void he's brought to you. “OH.̴.. I FORGET ̛WHA̢T̶ ̡I͞T͏'S̵ ̕C̶ALLE҉D.” He still has tears running down his face.

You need to calm down. Whoever this person is, yelling at him won't help. “Look... P-Papyrus, I know you're upset, but it's okay! It's all gonna be okay.”

He wipes the tears from his sockets. “SAN̢S ̨WA̡S̨...͞ H͏E͞ ͠WA̵S ̛REAL̷LY ̸MAD AT ME̕.̢..”

That was an understatement. When his sockets had gone dark like that, well, it was unnerving to say the least. “No, no, no, I'm... I'm sure he was just surprised! I mean we did go over there without any notice, you know?”

He nods, slowly, you can see the effects lessen on his body as he calms down. The colors becoming more solid, the ERRORS fading away, even his body seems to pull it's fracturing pieces back together. “M̷A̷Y̧BE..̕. MAYB̢E Y̶OU͞'͘RE̷ RIGHT̨.̡”

“Right!” Okay, what now? You needed to think of something to say now that will get you back home. “Maybe I can talk to them for you!”

He doesn't seem convinced. “P̡E̕R̵HAPS̡... IT WOULD ̴BE̶ BETTER.͞..” He seems to come to a decision and perks back up. “P̢ER͏HA͘PS̡ W̧E SHOU͞L͞D͞ ͏J̕US̴T HA̕N̸GO͝UT! WI͟THO͠UT SANS. OR AN͜YON͘E ͏EL͝SE͝.” He nods, emphatically. “YE͠S! I THINK THA͞T ͝W̡O̴ULD̢ ̴BE BE͜S̵T.”

Okay, new plan. “Look, Papyrus. I- I need to get back. I don't belong-” You glance around at the vast empty white void that surrounds you. “In this place.”

He starts to sweat and shakes his head. “N͝O͡!̨ ̵IT'S ͠F̷INE!͞ ͝I J͠US҉T̕- ̸I̛'͢LL̕ J̢U͠S҉T̨... ̸OH! I K̷NOW!͠ I͟'LL ̕MAK̡E Y͢OU ̷SOME ̡O͡F MY SP͘E̶CI͘A̕L ̸FRIENDS҉HIP SP͢AG̸HET̢TI! ͠Y͟OU'̷LL L̢O̴VE͡ I̵T̡!”

Papyrus lifts his hand and in the hole that opens up in the air, you can see actual shapes and colors. Your first instinct is to run to it, to jump through it, but caution holds you back. You'd have to get passed this version of Papyrus and it's a place you've never seen before-

“I'LL GE͢T ̡IT͠ R̵E͢ADY̨ AND͡ BĘ RIGHT BACK-” He steps through the hole and it starts to shrink.

_ Fuck being cautious! _

You run towards the hole, desperately trying to reach it before-

“MĄKE YO͟URS͡E̷LF A͢T HO͟M̵E-”

“Wait!!”

Your hand passes through the space where the hole used to be.

For a moment, you're frozen.

He's gone.

And you're alone.

_ Stay calm. _

There had to be something or someone in... wherever you were now. You just needed to stay calm and approach this rationally.

You began to turn, scanning the seemingly infinite white expanse. You turn, and turn, and turn, and turn until you realize that you've probably gone in a complete circle a few times and you stop. There was nothing. No signs of anything, anywhere. 

“Hello!?” You call out into the void. Part of you expected to hear an echo but instead, the sound of your voice felt almost... muffled. It was similar to how listening to yourself speak when you were underwater. The pure white was starting to hurt your eyes and you rubbed them in a futile attempt to soothe the ache.

"Well... standing here won't change anything." You murmer outloud, if for no other reason then to fill the asolute silence.

You choose a direction at random and start walking, unsure of where you were going.

There was no sound there. You couldn't hear your footsteps on the floor. You could hear your breaths, your clothes and skin rubbing together as you walked, but nothing else.

It occurred to you that you had no way to get back to where you were before. But then, you had no way to tell if you had actually moved at all, despite having walked for at least ten minutes.

The air in this place was neither hot nor cold. If there was air at all, you couldn't be sure. You were able to breathe but who knows. There were no objects, no sounds, nothing. There were no walls as far as you could see. And the floor didn't feel like... anything. It was solid but nothing else.

“Papyrus!?” You call into the nothingness. “Hey! Can you hear me!?”

Nothing.

“Hello?”

Nothing.

“CAN ANYONE HEAR ME!?” You scream at the top of your lungs.

Nothing.

“Someone?”

Nothing.

“Anyone!?”

Nothing.

“SOMEONE HELP ME!!!”

But nobody came.

You feel it. The oncoming hysteria. Panic. Panic. You're going to panic. You can't breathe. It's too big, or not big enough, you can't see anything, you cant-

You double over, covering your eyes.

What are you going to do?

What can you do?

How did this happen?

Why did it happen?

Why you?

“_ God, we're just having fun. Why are you being such a fucking buzzkill.” _

The memory comes, unbidden, unwanted. You try to ignore it but in the white void, your own thoughts felt inescapable. Your ex. The guy you thought you'd spend the rest of your life with. You'd fought everyone to be with him. Your friends, your parents, everyone, because you thought he was the one. You loved him and you thought he loved you...

But...

Was this because of you?

If you had been better, you two might still be together, you wouldn't have moved, wouldn't have met any of the skeletons, wouldn't be here, in this nothingness. Alone.

You want to scream.

You're not the one who changed.

You're not the one responsible-

No, it was _them_! The skeletons. Wasn't that what that other Papyrus said? That he 'befriended' you so he could be friends with them? And something about a machine? Is that what caused this? If you hadn't gotten involved with those skeleton monsters... would you not be here now? When you see them again-

_If you see them again..._

You're going to scream.

How long have you been here? It can't have been long, right?

Right?

Somewhere in the back of your head, you try to remember the effects of long term sensory deprivation. You can't recall but you remember it not being good.

You looked down at your clothes. You hadn't felt comfortable changing into what you usually wore to bed after work but you had taken off your shoes and grabbed a comfortable sweater. You pulled up the bottom of your sweater and grabbed at the shirt underneath. You pulled and twisted the fabric until it split giving you a long if uneven, strip of cloth.

You wrapped the cloth around your eyes to blot out the white. It helped, a little.

You slipped off your sweater completely and bundled in into a pillow-like shape. You closed your eyes and leaned back onto it.

That other version of Papyrus, he said he'd be back soon, right? So, you just needed to wait.

It won't be long now, right?

Right.

If you did sleep, it wasn't well.

You were too stressed, too uncomfortable to really feel rested, and any time you actually took the chance to peek out from your blindfold, you only saw the same vast expanse of white that stung your eyes and bared down on you from all sides.

It was impossible to tell if you slept for a few minutes or a few hours or a few days.

All you knew is that your back hurt.

You can't take laying here anymore.

After struggling up to your feet you consider taking off your blindfold but choose not to. It's not like there's anything that you can run into anything.

You feel the urge to scream.

But somewhere inside you felt that, if you did, you wouldn't be able to stop.

So, instead, you start singing.

You started by singing your favorite songs, sometimes over and over again. But soon you're singing your less favorite songs, songs you hated, songs you barely remember, you tried to remember the songs in musicals and sing them in order while remembering all the words. At one point you were even desperate enough to sing a cat food commercial jingle on loop.

Somewhere in the middle of your singing, you started dancing too.

Anything to pass the time.

Anything to occupy the empty space.

Anything.

_Anything_...

Your throat hurts.

Your voice is on the verge of breaking.

_Don't stop._

“We're all in this together! Once we know duh duh duh, we're all stars and we see that-”

_Don't stop._

“-when we stand, hand in hand, make our dreams come-”

“H̶EL̛LO?”

You scream.

Actually scream.

You're entire body jolts as you fall forward from the shock, moving away from the voice that's suddenly behind you. Your trembling fingers stumble with the blindfold until you manage to rip it off and your eyes are overwhelmed with white again.

But you're not alone.

Someone new is standing in front of you. His face shows obvious confusion and concern.

He looks like Blueberry. But similar to the other Papyrus, his skull is black, then his teeth were almost a neon blue, and his sockets blue, the lights in his eyes a vibrant yellow and magenta. All along his skull were tiny yellow stars. You're eyes travel over his body, you can't stop looking at him. It feels like such a relief to see anything.

He takes a step forward and offers you a hand. “ARE Y̢O͢U ͡ALRIG̸HT͡?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks to P3rs0n for choosing the embarressing song!


	9. Chapter 9

Your relief at seeing_ anything_ in this place is immediately drowned out by fear. This guy, whoever he was, he was like that Papyrus, the other Papyrus that abducted you and abandoned you here. What else can these guys want from you? What else are they capable of? You push yourself back, away from his outstretched hand, struggling with the impulse to run. _Not another one, please god not another one of these people-_

You stop when he raises his hands. “N̨-͟NO- I͜T'S̢ O͡KAY̛, IT̵'̸S ̧O̷KĄY̕!! I ̢WON'T ͜H͡URT̕ Y̕O͡U! ̕P͡L̛E͏A̡S͠E...” His warped voice becomes strained. “PL͠EA͞SE̢ ̨ḐON'T BE SC̸A҉RED͏ OF͢ M͡E̕.̡..”

You stop, trying to breathe.

_ Stay calm... _

He reaches out to you again, slowly offering his hand to you.

Against your better judgment, you grab it and allow him to pull you up. “I...” your voice is absolutely destroyed. “I'm- I'm not okay.”

Not-Blueberry frowns. “A͞RE͘ ̨YOU HUR͠T?”

You shake your head. “N-no. I'm just... I-” Now that you're holding onto his hand you find that you're unwilling to let go. “Can you help me? Please.”

He smiles kindly and, despite everything, it reassures you. “OF C͟OU̡R̴SE I'LL̵ H̢ELP̢ YOU.” He shakes your hand. “MY NAME IS SANS! BUT I̧ L҉IKE TO͝ C͝A̧ĻL MYS̢EL͡F BLU̵E͏BȨR̸ROR̴!” He chuckles as if it's funny.

"...Sans?" You murmur. "Your name is Sans?"

Blueberror? Sans? Smiles. "IT U͢S͞E͟D TO̧ BE͢. BUT LI̧KE I SAID. I USUAL̢L͞Y ͠GO BY B͏LUE͘BE̷R̛RO̵R NOW. IT͘'S E͟ASIER T̶HA͘T WAY. WHAT'S ͡YOUR̨ N̶AM̡E?"

Okay, table that for later. You tell him and force yourself to release his hand. “I... I was brought here by... I don't know who he is. He said his name is Papyrus but-”

“IS HE LI̕KE̕ M͡E?” Blue asks.

You nod. “Yes...”

“O͞H ̵BOY.̧” Blueberror gives a long-suffering sigh. “I S̶HOULD HAVE ͠S̕EE͞N͏ THIS ͝COMINĢ ̢WHEN̵ HE ͡DISA͡P͞PE͏ARED̸ ͏ON̕ ME̵.”

“You know him?”

Blue nods. “Y͏E̵S. ͘I͝'͠VE BE̶EN T͞RY͞I͡NĢ TO̧ ͏K̕EE͠P A̶N EY͢E S̴OCK̴E̸T OU͜T F̢O̢R H͜IM.” He smiles apologetically. “HE'͏S͘ A LITT̷L͏E C̨ƠNF̕US̵E͢D AN͘D H͘AS A H̛ABIT ͏OF WAND̛ERI̡N͏G OFF.͏ AN͞D ͝H͝E'S BEEN̛ ̨ĻON̛ELY EVE͏R SIN͢CE HIS͘ UNDYNE-" Blueberror cut himself off, looking almost... guilty.

But you can't even begin to care about that. “Please, can we get out of here? Please?”

Blueberror gives your hand a reassuring squeeze. “S̵URE, FO͜LLOW ͠M̨E.” He turns from you and winks when he does a black star shoots from his eye. The star starts out small but rapidly grows until it stops in midair. The black inside the star fades away and you see reality on the other side, full of colors and shapes. You let Blueberror lead you into the star, leaving the white abyss behind you.

The first thing you feel is cold.

There's still white but it air actually feels cold. With blues, and purples, and greens, and orange- The colors are almost overwhelming. But it feels so good. You don't even care that your bare feet are in the snow. You take a few minutes to breathe. To let the tension ease out of you and to Blueberror's credit, he seems to understand your state of mind because he doesn't say anything and just allows you to regain composure. The relief you feel is palpable.

When you finally start to calm down you look back to Blueberror, whose hand you're still holding. “Where... where are we?”

Blueberror looks around the small, snowy village. His expression is a little fond but also a little sad. IT'S AN E͜MPTY PLACE I ͘L҉I̢KE̴ T̨O STOP IN FROM T̸I͘ME̕ ͞TO TIM͜E.” He carefully lets go of your hand. “IT REMINDS ME OF HOME.”

“Thank... thank you. For getting me out of there.” You shiver. “I thought I was gonna go crazy.”

He nods. “I ̶UN̡D̷ER͠S͝TA͡N̸D̡. IT'̢S NO͠T̶ ͟A ͘GOOD͜ ̶PL͏AC͞E ͜FO̶R ̨A҉NY͟O̢N͢E̴.̛ I̢ C͠H̢ECK ̨IN ̵THERE͝ F͢RO͘M TI̷M̸E̵ ̶TO TIM̕E JUS̛T͢ ̡ŢO͟ SE͜E ͢IF ANY̷ ͟MO͝NSŢERS HA̛VE G̡OTT̡EN͏ ̸STUC͠K̸.” He grins, excitedly. “MWE HEH̴ HE҉H̴! YOU'R̴E LUC̸KY̡ I ͏FOU͡ND͡ ͜YO̷U͢! O҉R ̧YOU M̸IGHT'VE̡ ҉EN̕D͟ED͟ U͟P̡ LOƠKIN͞Ģ L̨IKE M̢E͘!”

You really don't like the sound of that. “Uh... so... what exactly are you?”

His face falls, a little. “I ̸USE̕D̨ ̷T̛O̡ ̶B͟E̴ ͞A̷ MONS͞TE̡R ̛BU҉T I̢.̕..̡ I ̷GO̕T.͏.. I W͏A̵S.̷..” He seems to be at a loss for words. “I GǪT҉.̛..̵ ST̢U̷C͘K ̛IN̵ ̵THE͢ ͝ANTIV̢OI̵D” At your confusion, he adds. “THĄT'S̸ ͞WH͟A̵T IT͠'S͝ CAL͏LE͏D͏,̷ ̨T͡H̨E̡ PLA͟CE͢ Y̸OU ͝WER̨E͠ IN, ͞I͞T'̴S ͏TH͘E̶ ANTI̛VO͢I̕D̴. ͝I WA̴S͢ ͢I̶N͡ ͜THE̡RE͝ ͏F͏OR̡ ͘T̵OO LO͏N͞G ̧AND͘.͏..͜ ̴TU͢RNED̛ ̛IN̶ŢO ͝T̕HIS͏. A̢N ̸ERR͟OR̷.̷”

An error? Was that a reference to all the literal ERRORS flying off his body?

Wait. Blueberror? Like Blueberry and Error?

What would that make the Papyrus you met. Papyror. Paperror. ...Errorus?

He perks right back up again. “BUT THIS̴ IS ͝TH̵E̡ FI͝RST TĮM͏E A̶ HUMAN W̶AS IN ̕T͢HER͝E! O͡R ĄT̵ L͢EĄST, ̛T͞HE͘ F̢IRST ̸TI͏ME ͏I'V͡E͏ SEEN I͢T!͞” He laughs. “ALTHO̴ŲGH, N̸OW T̨H͜ĄT I̢ TH̨I̵NK̢ ͏O̵F IT, HUMA̢N͞ ̕B̵OD͢IES͞ A̡R͟E͢N̴'T͡ ͡M̴A͏D̕E OF ͠MAGIC͠ AND AREN'͡T̨ EF̵FECTED ͝BY THE̡ ͡STAT͘E OF͘ YOU̢R SOUL... S͢O̡ M͢AYBE Y̛O̷U WO̸U͘LDN'T H̛AVE TUR̡N̴ED ͘I̡NT̷O̡ A͡N ̕ERROR." He shrugs with a pleasant smile. “I GU͢ESS̨ ͢I HAVE NO ̡I͡D̛ĘA̧ WHA̷T WOULD HA̢VE ͏HAPPE̕NE̷D ͘TO YOU̶.”

Well, that's horrifying. And it's troubling how he doesn't seem to realize just how terrifying that idea is. “...Is that what happened to the other Papyrus, too?”

Blueberror nods. “Y̧UP̵,͞ THAT'S RIGHT.̷”

You might regret asking this. “Uh... how many of you are there?”

Blueberror shrugs. “WELL,̷ IT͠'S ͞T̵H͘E ͜MULTIVERS̷E SO ̧P̕OTE͢N̨TI͝ALL̸Y ͟T͝HERE̷'̵S ͢AN͞ ĮN̢FI̸N͡IŢE ͠NUMB͜ER͘ ͘O̵F ER͘RO̡RS OUT TH͜E͝RE."

You must look horrified because he starts looking frazzled as he waves his hands. “N͡O,̡ NO! IT̶'S ͞F͞INE!͢ Y'SE͞E IT̛'S͞ TH͠E MU̶L͏T͡IVE͟R̴S͟E̶ ͝SO̵-SO ͜YO͠U'͝RE C̵H̴ANC̷ES OF̧ M͘E͢E̴TI͢N͡G MA̛NY ̕E̢R̶RO̢RS A͡RE...͜ UH- REAL͝LY, REA͢L͏LY LOW!̵ YEA̶H͢!”

And you've met two in the last few hours.

“S̶-̧SǪRR̕Y. I K͢N͞O͘W IT C͏AN BE O̸V͘ERWHE̶LMING... I ̛WA͞S T̴OO ǪVE̴RWHELM̛E͞D, I͘ ME̢A̵N." He rubs the back of his skull, sheepishly. “SOME͢TIMES IT'S HARD FO̸R ME TO RE̶MEMBER H͜OW IT FELT...”

“I... I want to go home.” You're shivering. The cold is starting to be less comforting and more painful. “Please.”

Blueberror looks... sad. “I'͟M SORRY BUT I D͡ON'T KNOW ̛WHER͘E YOU COM̧E F͡ROM. I̢ C͟AN'T TAKE̵ ̨Y̛O͢U HOME.”

You feel sick.

“B̨UT.̶.. ͜BUT͡! ̵IF WE CA͘N FI͘ŅD THE E͡RROR̢ T͏H̕AT T͘ƠOK Y̧OU ̶T̢O ̛ŢH͠E ͘ANTI͠VO͠I͞D, ̕HE S̸HOU͢LD B͏E AB̛LE ̨T͟O S͢H̶OW US̴ WH͜I̢CH AU ̛YO͏U͟'R͢E ̵FR̴O̧M!” He reaches out for your hand and you slowly reach out to take it. “DI̴D HE M͢ENTION W̵HER͢E ͡HE ͢WA̴Ş ̵GǪIŅG?”

You pause, trying to think back to when he left. “He.. said... something about making friendship spaghetti?” That sounded right.

Blueberror's face lights up. “OH! I TH̢IN͘K I MI͠GH͘T K͟N̡OW SOME PLACE̸S H̵E ̡COULD HAV͢E̢ GONE͠!” He turns around and winks again, shooting out a star, like before, and a hole opens up in the air. You almost expected there to be white in the space but, luckily, it's colorful and clear inside.

He leads you forward and the two of you step through the portal.

It was another place you didn't know but you could tell it was a kitchen.

“P͏A̴PYRU͡S.” Blueberror's tone was chastising.

That's when you spotted him. He was hunched over, what looked like, the aftermath of a tornado. The light bulbs above him were broken and sparking. He was standing over several pots fully of spaghetti, each one looking more inedible than the last. And the place looked like it had caught on fire several times. When he heard Blueberror's voice, his whole body went rigid and you could see his body spazzing out in random colors.

“OH! BLUE WHAT ARE YOU-” His eyes landed on her and he froze. “OH͘ H͞EL̕L͞O! ͠W͏H͡AT AR͘E YOU͝ DO̕I͟NG H͏ERE͢?” Before you could answer, or snap at him. “NYE͢H̕ ͏HE̶H HEH!̵ I SE͟E̛! ͡YOU ̧C͞O̧U̶L͠DN̨'͞T͠ CO̵NT͘AI̢N YOURS͏ELF ͞AND͘ CA͜ME EA̶RLY TO TRY̛ MY C͏O͜ǪKIŅG!” His eyes sparkled. “W͝OW͏EE!”

You have to physically fight yourself to keep from punching him.

Blueberror had called Paperror? Confused. He was a victim of... whatever it is that changed them into Errors. He wasn't thinking rationally. Even Blueberror, who seemed to have more of a handle on himself would say things that felt unbalanced. If what he had told her was true... then it wasn't their fault. They're not in their right frame of mind...

That didn't stop you from being pissed.

“PAP̡YRUS," Blueberror repeated in the same tone. “Y̸OU ͏LE͠F͢T T̵H͠EM ͜AL͞L ALO̷NE IN T͠HE̵ ANTIVOID̕. Y͘O̵U KNOW T͡HAT̸'S N͞OT SAF̶E.̷”

You didn't miss the look of shame that crossed Paperror's face. “I... I WAS̴ G͟OING T̴O̴ CǪME ̷R̶IGH̡T BA͜CK. Į JUST ̧LOST ͘TR̷A̵CK̵ ͟OF T̵IME.”

“A̛ND̷ D̸ID YOU ͞A͟SK ̵T̕O BRING͏ TH̢EM TH͟EŖE?” Blueberror asked, arms crossed.

Paperror stopped, thinking it over. “O͏H. NO... I͡ ̢DIDN'T.͏”

Blueberror placed a reassuring hand on Paperror's arm. “YO̕U̸ RE͏AĻLY̛ S͟CA̸R͟ED̷ THEM. AN͘D I T̨HI̡NK Y̛O̷U̢ OWE T͞HE͡M AN A͠POLƠG͟Y.”

Paperror turned to you. “H̨U̴MA͝N͘...̵ I͟'M SORRY.̡ M͢Y B̛ȨHAVI͠OU͏R W͢ĄS UNBE͠COMI̶NG ͝O͟F AN HONORA͜R͘Y͢ ME̸M̛BER̴ OF̧ T͜HE̡ ̸R͏O͝Y͜A̶L GU̢ARD̷. AR͝E YO̢U͟ ALRIGHT̕?”

You considered what to say. You're head was throbbing, your body shaking. “I... I want to go home, Pape- Papyrus.” You held back from calling his Paperror, getting the feeling he wouldn't like it.

“OH̛. OH͏! YES, OF ͞CO͝UR͞SE!” He lifts his hand and another of those holes appeared in the air. Through it, you could see... trees. A forest that looked... familiar.

“That's my universe?” You ask, hopefully.

“O͞F̛ COU̶RSE̛!̸ THE ̕GREAT̴ ̨PA͡PYRUS̡ ͡HAS A̡N̕ ͏IMPEC͟AB͘LE ̷MEMƠR̛Y!” He grinned.

You weren't convinced and apparently, Blueberror noticed your hesitation. “I'Ll GO WITH Y͘O͠U ͠T̨O MA͞K̡E SURE̴.”̧ He looked back to Paperror. “GO B̨ACK͏ TO̕ THE ͡OM̵EGA ͏TIM͘E̡LIN̸E. I'L̴L M̛E͝ET ͝YO̕U TH̢E͜RE AND TǪGE͏THER WE'LL MAKE ̵A̵ ͠PUZZ͟L͝E WO̶RT̕H͢Y ͠OF̷ T͠HE͏ G͟R̴EAT PAPYR̛US͏ AŅD TH͝E M͝AGNIF͘ICENT BL͠UEBER͜RO̸R͠!” He grins at Paperror and the taller skeleton looks absolutely thrilled. Blueberror motioned towards the hole. “AFTER YO͟U͞.”

You glance back at Paperror. “...bye, Papyrus.” That forced pleasantry was the best you can do before stepping through the portal.

The woods felt familiar. Looked familiar but the large building you were standing in front of was not.

“IS THAT YOU̵R HǪME?” Blueberror asked.

“No... I'm not sure where-" Your words peter off when you see the two skeletons staring down at you from the deck of the large house you're standing in front of. And you recognize them. Stretch and Red were staring down at the two of you and you just catch the sight of the cigarette falling out of Stretch's mouth. They gaped at the two of you as if frozen in place.

The stunned silence was broken when Blueberror waves cheerfully. "OH̷, HELLO!̨!"

Stretch bolted back into the house, you hear shouting, Red vanishes in front of your eyes and suddenly a flurry of red bones is shot towards you, no, towards Blueberror-

Blueberror shot out two winks and stars shoot out from his eyes. The bones were swallowed by the stars and after a moment are shot back out in random directions, hitting the trees and even the side of the large house, but missing him and you. Something in your brain tells you that running out of what might have just become a battle arena might be a good idea, but your body won't respond. It's taking everything you have just keep standing

“H̡OLD ON! I̧'M N̵OT HERE̶ TO FI̵G̵HT!” Blueberror lifts his hands in a gesture of surrender. “I JUS͡T CAM͝E TO ͟RET̵URN TH̸E ͘HUM̛AN͠.”

You hear your name called as a group of skeletons are crowding onto the deck now. Blue and Papyrus-

“what happened to the other freak?” Red looked like he was planning to attack again.

Blueberror ignored the insult. “I̧ APO̵LOG͜IZE͟ F̀OŖ ANY I͠NC͢ONV͘ĮENI͟ENCE MY FRIE͠ND̴ CAUSED Y͟OU. I'̧ĻL K̡EE͞P ͡A BET̛ŢE͘R͘ EYE̶ ON HÍM F͡ROM NOW ON.” He looked to you with a smile. “I G̵UE̷SS THIS IS ͏YOUR̀ UNIV͞ERSE̢!͞ THAT'S GR̀EAT̵.”

You nod. "Yeah... thanks for the help..."

He beamed. "ANYT͏IM̶E!" Then he turned back to the, still opened, hole in the air and waved. “I͞T͘ WAS NICE ME͟E͘TING̴ Y̴OU͡!”

You numbly waved back as Blueberror went through the hole and vanished.

You were suddenly crowded by skeletons. All speaking to you at once.

“ARE YOU ALRIGHT?”

“WHAT HAPPENED?”

“who was that-”

You're shaking, sweating, the world going black around the edges- you stagger- your legs collapse from under you as the world goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We never really get to know any of the Errors besides Error!Sans because the creator burned out on that au. So, most of the stuff about the errors in my stories are my own headcanons, with the exception of direct references. (Like Blueberror being overwhelmed by multiple universes) 
> 
> For the record, Error!Paps was made an 'Honorary member of the royal guard' by Error!Undyne. She's dead now. :) And Error!Paps is sad.
> 
> Also, I think all the Errors have their own powers. Error!Sans had his strings, Error!Blue was going to have an ability that had 'something to do with stars', and we never really learn about Error!Paps so I took the liberty of making up my own crap. The feedback that Error!Paps caused is a him only thing.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm gonna be taking a break from this story for school. Here's [a poll](https://www.strawpoll.me/18938339) you can take about which AUs/skeletons should show up in future chapters. The results won't guarantee that those skelies will show up but may inform my choices. 
> 
> If you have any questions you can find me on [my tumblr](https://the-jennisms.tumblr.com/).

You drifted in and out of consciousness for a while.

Every time you started coming back to the waking world some exhausted part of your brain lured you back into blissful sleep. But, inevitably, your stomach's rumbling slowly pulled you back to reality. It was a slow process as the world slowly came into focus.

You don't know where you are.

You bolt up in bed and immediately have to grab the nearest solid object to steady yourself. Your head was pounding from the worst migraine you've ever had and your mouth is horribly dry.

The room was so... colorful, almost overwhelmingly so.

The wallpaper was old pink floral pattern that was tearing at the edges, a desk was covered in brightly colored figurines, a garish carpet with vivid orange and yellow flames, the quilt you were tucked into was a deep blue and... was this a red race car bed and A jolly Rodger flag on the wall? That's kind of awesome. Or it would be if you didn't feel like you were low key dying.

You close your eyes trying to regain some composure.

You could hear voices coming from... somewhere. They were a few rooms away, at least, but they were loud enough to be pretty clear in the room you were laid out in. But it was more than that. The sound of the heater was jarring and the wind whistling outside was piercing.

Where the heck were you? How did you get here? Why do you feel so... raw? So sensitive all of a sudden- _ Oh... _

_ Oh, god... _

You remember now.

That other version of Papyrus, being abducted, trapped in the... Antivoid, and meeting Blueberror. You remembered coming back and... you must have passed out. 

You kind of remember that.

Was this the lodge? Where the skeletons apparently all lived together? ...What were you going to do now? When you had been trapped; you had imagined confronting them, screaming and cursing at them... but now that you were out the helpless rage had died down significantly. You weren't sure you had the energy to be angry. But you were going to confront them.

You needed to.

Paperror was dangerous and unstable and If their presence here had brought him here then pretending nothing happened wasn't an option and who knows what else these monsters were involved with... If they were dangerous, or if they were the ones in danger, you needed to know and report it if necessary. Though the idea of your coworkers manhandling Papyrus makes you physically ill-

The sound of footsteps coming down the hall sets your already frayed nerves on end until a familiar face quietly peeks in through the door.

Papyrus squints at you in the dark before he realizes you're staring back at him. “YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE!” He throws the door open and you flinch at the slam but he doesn't seem to notice as he runs over to you and you're wrapped in a skeletal hug. “THANK GOODNESS!”

“Pap-” Your voice cracks, coming out almost garbled, and any attempt to speak is drowned out by hacking coughs.

Papyrus jolts. “ARE YOU ALRIGHT?” His genuine concern would have been heartwarming if you hadn't been coughing up your lungs.

“W-water.” You finally manage to croak out.

Papyrus releases you at once. “OH! YES! I'LL GET YOU SOME!”

He runs out the door faster then you would have believed and is back with a glass full of room temperature tap water.

You're not in any place to refuse and despite your first instinct to chug the water as fast as possible, you start taking small sips.

It may have been tap water but the moment it touched your raw throat you felt instant relief and by the time you had finished your glass, you realized how much better you felt. It wasn't enough, your body was craving more, but your throat wasn't so wrecked and your migraine had actually eased somewhat.

Dehydration. You must have seen pretty severely dehydrated. 

_ The singing probably didn't help. _

But, first things first. “Thank you, Papyrus.” You sounded like you had been chain-smoking for days but at least you could actually get the words out now.

Papyrus looks relieved. “DO YOU NEED ANYTHING ELSE?”

“I need to talk to-”

Your growling stomach cuts your off.

Papyrus grins. “OH, OF COURSE! I'LL MAKE YOU SOME INCREDIBLE FOOD TO SATISFY EVEN THE HUNGRIEST OF HUMAN STOMACHS!” Papyrus head for the door in long, confident strides. “MAKE YOURSELF AT HOME!”

He leaves you alone, in what you now assume is his room, and you have to take a few minutes to get the strength to stand up and follow.

You really are worse for wear. Which is a nice way to say you feel like garbage that's been set on fire. It doesn't take long to find a bathroom and you drink straight from the sink. Filling up your cup and drinking a couple more glass fulls. You even take the liberty to stick your head under the bath faucet as if that will help you soak up more water.

You must have been in that place for longer then you thought.

A clattering of pans, and something that sounds suspiciously like shattering glass, lures you out of the bathroom to find Papyrus. You filled up the glass one more time to take it with you.

There are several rooms with closed doors, at one end of the hall was a staircase that apparently goes up to another floor and at the other end was a balcony that looked over the living room and led to a staircase going down.

“uuh... paps?” The soft voice is familiar, even as you don't see the speaker. “what's the occasion?”

“I'M MAKING SPAGHETTI FOR MY HUNGRY FRIEND.” Papyrus replies with his usual good-natured attitude.

“they're awake?”

You took the opportunity to turn the corner towards the voices in the kitchen. Both catch sight of you, Papyrus looks pleased at the sight of you but the look on Sans's face is nothing less than pure dread.

You bite the inside of your lip, trying to think of the right way to say it. “...I think I need an explanation.” You decide to say. “Who do I need to talk to?”

The expression on Sans's face goes blank. “that... that would be me...”

He doesn't move.

You don't move.

“I think I deserve an explanation.” You add, sternly.

Sans looks away from you. “yeah... you're- you're right.” He still doesn't move.

You glance around the room, taking it in. It's bright with large open windows. The living room and dining room were in the same, joint room, with the kitchen adjacent to the dining room. So, you take a seat at the large dining table and motion towards the seat across from you.

“Take a seat, please.”

Sans, who looks like he would rather get all his teeth knocked out with a hammer, eventually does sit. He's stiff and looks incredibly uncomfortable. He still doesn't say anything and you realize you're going to have to lead this conversation completely.

“Did you know that other Papyrus?” You finally choose to ask.

“no.” He answers immediately.

“Do you know why he was here?”

“no.” He repeats.

You were starting to get annoyed. This whole conversation was going to be an ordeal.

You take a sip of your water before continuing. “What is the machine?”

His whole body jerks, clearly not expecting you to ask that. Or at least, not so blatantly. “...that's... it's not... i-” His eye lights are pinpricks in his sockets.

“Is it dangerous?” You add.

“no, i mean, probably not- uh, not in the way you're probably thinking.” He flinches at the withering look you give him. “it's a long story...”

“Take your time.” You say, coldly.

Sans shoulders sag and he runs his bony hands over his face. He looks... tired. Very tired. You want to feel bad for him but carefully ignore that empathetic part of your brain.

“...i didn't make it, the machine, i... kind of inherited it.” He won't look you in the eye. Not a good sign.

“From who?” You really trying to keep from losing patience.

Sans finally looks at you, sweating. “i know this is gonna sound bad but...i don't really remember him.” He finally looks you in the eye. “and I really mean that. i can't remember him, no one can.”

That's... weird. To say the least. “Why?”

Sans shrugs, helplessly. “...whatever happened to him, it almost completely erased him from this universe. from what i've found, he used to be the royal scientist. the machine was his. it's one of the only things that was left behind.”

So, if Sans was being honest, this monster scientist was wiped out of history by... something. “Did the machine do that?”

Slowly, Sans shakes his head. “i don't think so.”

That wasn't very reassuring. “Sans-”

“the machine was designed to search for and connect to alternate universes.” He says it quickly and it catches you completely off guard.

“What?” Admittedly, a few years ago you might have said that magic, monsters, ghosts, and alternate universes weren't real but somehow the idea behind this machine is... surprising. To put it lightly. “Why would anyone make something like that?”

Sans's eye lights drift down to the table. “my best guess? to get us out of the underground.”

You feel yourself deflate... a little. Remembering the centuries that monsters were prisoners underground does ease some of the anger you've been struggling with. “How was that going to help monsters escape?”

“my guess? to find another universe where monsters weren't underground. or maybe find another universe where we could find someone who could break the barrier.”

You take a moment to examine him.

Sans had been a hard guy to read when you met him at Grillbys and, to a certain extent, that was true now. But he looked terrible. He was sweating, with grey circles under his sockets, and his clothes look completely disheveled. If you didn't know better, you'd think he'd been wearing the same outfit for a few days... now that you think of it. It looks just like the outfit he was wearing when you met him and it wasn't nearly that bad. Unless he has multiple versions of the same outfit and chose an even dirtier outfit to wear-

“What did you do with the machine?” You're dreading the answer.

And Sans seems to be dreading it too. “...i've been trying to figure out how it works.”

“Why? Monsters are already free.”

Sans sighs and you wear he looks like he's about to collapse. “...because... something like that could happen again.”

That... was a decent point. Not a lot of details were released about exactly how monsters managed to escape their prison but you knew it was a human that released them. Though, if humans and monsters did come to the point were humans wanted to get rid of monsters, you seriously doubted that 'imprisoning' them will be the goal. In that case, an escape route into a universe where, maybe, humans didn't exist at all would be smart.

“So, you're trying to get the machine working, just in case.”

He nods. “yeah.”

“And were you asked to do this by someone?” You weren't sure exactly how far Sans's connections went.

“no. it's more of a... personal project.”

You examine his expression carefully. He seems almost resigned as he looks you in the eye.

He's being honest, more or less, but he's not telling the truth. Not the whole truth.

You take another sip of water as you try to organize your thoughts. After savoring the feeling of water easing the pain of your sore throat, you turn back to Sans.

“Sans.”

Sans seems to sense your displeasure and the lecture that's coming because he sinks into his hoodie and his eyes move down his hands on the table.

“I understand that this situation is hard on you. I understand that telling your secrets to a complete stranger is... stressful. But I'm involved in this now.” You pause to give him a moment to process. “Whether either of us like it or not.”

“...yeah. I know...”

“Sans.” You say his name again and it succeeds in getting him to look up at you. “I don't want anything to happen to you, or Papyrus, or anyone else who's involved in this. I want to help you. But I need to understand what exactly is going on here if I'm going to help you.” You need him to understand the position you're in. If you think this place is dangerous, if people can get hurt, you'll have to report it.

Sans nods but doesn't speak.

Another sip of water. “When I was... taken, I met someone who looked like Blueberry. He said his name was Sans.”

Sans jolted in his seat and more beads of sweat are on his skull now.

“I'm getting the distinct impression that the Blueberry I know... is also named Sans. And that it's not just a common name for skeletons.” Saying it out loud feels strange. Like you hadn't fully realized your suspicions until you said it.

Sans's eye lights went out for a few seconds and when they were weak, flickering in his sockets. “...yes.”

You think over the implications of what Sans just said. “Blueberry... and his brother. They're from another universe?”

“yes. they're me and my brother, papyrus from another universe and... it's not just... them.” He adds that last part with a lot of hesitation.

Not just them? You think over the skeletons you've met so far. “So Blue, Stretch... Red and his brother, Black and-” You almost call him Mutt and scold yourself. “-his brother. They're all from other universes.”

Sans sighs. “yes.”

“How did that happen?”

“i was trying to figure out the machine and... i'm still not sure what happened. all i know is one second it's just me and paps upstairs and the next i have six more skeletons on my hands with no idea how to send them back...” Sans leans into the table, head in his hands.

“So, that's the goal now? Get everyone back where they belong?”

“yes...”

Okay, so this machine was clearly dangerous, even it's full capabilities are unknown. And then there's the possibility that the former royal scientist could have been erased from this universe by it, even if Sans didn't think so. Bottom line, it's dangerous, even if you did believe that Sans just wanted to help monsters and now return the wayward skeletons home... which you do. Mostly. Call it a gut feeling but you feel like there's something else...

Regardless.

The machine could easily be considered a weapon. Possibly even a WMD. Sans could be arrested, Papyrus too as an accomplice. Blue and the others might not be arrested and could be seen as victims... but you doubt they'd get that level of consideration. Especially by the police in this town. And if it got out... if the general human populace found out about the machine...

You could see many humans accusing the monsters at large of conspiracies against humanity. The already tense relations between humans and monsters could be irreparably damaged...

Many humans just needed an excuse.

“God...” You rub your temple at the throbbing headache that was slowly making a comeback. “Sans... I... this is a lot.”

Sans chuckles but there's no real humor in it. “no kiddin'.”

You grab your glass and swirl the water inside, considering your options.

Strictly speaking, in terms of the law, you should report them.

But what was the _right _thing to do?

You sigh and finish off your glass of water.

You know what you have to do. You lace your fingers together and sit up a little straighter to look directly at Sans's sockets. “Sans.”

He's tense. You can tell, he's expecting the worst.

“I... am choosing to believe that you have good intentions. That you aren't trying to hurt anyone. And I think... revealing the machine and the rest of you will only lead to suffering. And not just for you but for a lot of innocent monsters... which is why-” No going back. “I am not going to report this.”

Sans looks shocked. Slowly, the tension eases out of his shoulders. “...you're not?”

“No.” You confirm. “But, from now on, I need you to keep me in the loop with what happens here, with the machine.” You actually manage a rueful smile. “Which, technically, makes me an accomplice.”

Sans is quiet for a moment. “...you really mean that?”

“Yes.”

“swear on it?”

“Yes.”

Slowly, Sans stretches his hand across the table. “promise?”

There's something there, in the way he says that word, that sticks out to you. For the first time since the two of you started this conversation, he looks focused. There's an edge to his voice. 

It feels like a test.

You take his skeletal hand. “Promise.”

You see a skull peaking around behind Sans.

You'd been so focused on him that you'd almost forgotten about his brother.

“Something wrong, Papyrus?”

He perks up. “NO! NOT AT ALL! I WAS JUST ABOUT TO BRING YOU SOME SPAGHETTI AND WAS DEFINITELY NOT LISTENING TO YOUR SERIOUS AND VERY STRESSFUL CONVERSATION!”

Nice save.

Papyrus recovers quickly, bringing over-

What the hell _is _that???

It looks vaguely like spaghetti but it looks simultaneously burnt and under-cooked. You were hungry but not _that _hungry_. _ You would have said so but looking up into Papyrus's eager smiling face was an unstoppable force that you couldn't resist.

“Could I have more water?” You're going to need a lot of water to wash this down.

You regret everything.

You're not hungry anymore but you feel like you're gonna be sick. You swear as you ate the ghastly spaghetti that Sans was grinning at your obvious discomfort and your suffering, but conveniently whenever you looked directly at him he was looking somewhere else.

Papyrus had looked so happy after you finished, though.

As you ate your 'meal' you explained what happened to you. Meeting Paperror, being trapped, being rescued by Blueberror, and finally getting back. You told him what you'd learned about ERRORS and the Antivoid, too while you were at it.

“Um... look, Sans, I uh, need to get home to enjoy whatever's left of the weekend.”

“weekend?”

He's confused.

And now you're confused.

“Y-yeah. What day is it? Saturday? Or Sunday?”

“IT'S TUESDAY.” Papyrus informed you and you feel your already weak stomach lurch.

“Tues..day...?” You look over to Sans. “How long was I out? How long was I gone?”

Your alarm seems to unnerve him. “uh... it was almost three days before that... other blue brought you back. then you slept all day today.”

Three days.

You were trapped in the Antivoid for _three days?_

That couldn't be right! It felt like a long time but it couldn't have been that long, though. You never felt hungry there or particularly thirsty. Though there was nothing normal about that place. If it was true... but you didn't think Papyrus would lie about that. 

You're gonna get it from your boss and you're pretty sure he wouldn't accept 'I was trapped in a white timeless void for three days' as an excuse.

You groan. “Oh _ god _ !” You run your hands through your hair. “Is there _anything else _I need to know about...?” You ask, dreading the answer.

Sans chuckled, nervously. “uh... actually... yes.”

Oh god.

“that other papyrus... you saw the effect he had on technology, right?”

You groan. “Yes.”

“uh... he got close enough to affect the machine.”

You freeze.

“Oh god. Does- does that mean that-?”

Sans sighs. “we haven't found anyone yet but-”

“Sans.” Your voice breaks. “I need to get home before I lose my fucking mind, please.”

Sans nods. “yeah, okay.” He stands from his seat at the table and moves around to you. He offers you his hand, offering it to you. “i'll take you there.”

“Yeah, okay.” You take his hand and he pulls you up from your seat. “See you later Papyrus.”

Papyrus grins and waves enthusiastically. “GOODBYE!”

Sans turns around from you, pulling you forward, as your hand slips from his you feel... strange.

The world around you goes black and for a moment, you're alarmed, but you can see Sans clearly in front of you. He's moving forward in a certain direction and you follow. You glance back and can actually see the kitchen you were just sitting in as if it was at the end of a dark tunnel, and at the other-

You step into your apartment living room.

For a few seconds, you're stunned. “What. The heck. Was that??”

Sans seems amused by your reaction because he's giving a real smile. “we call it a shortcut.”

You stare around the room. “That's a hell of a short cut.” You're too frazzled to really ask more.

Sans shrugs as if it's nothing impressive. “anyway since we're, uh, partners in crime now i figure i should probably get your number."

“Oh. Oh! Yeah. Just a sec.”

You take a moment to remember just where your phone is and the memory of your phone going completely insane before-

Nope, don't think about that right now.

You walk over to the couch and pull out the laptop and phone from the cushions. Sans shoots you a questioning look and you shake your head in return.

“Paperror.” Is as in-depth as you care to get right now. 

You try to turn on your phone.

The backlight goes on for a moment before there's an audible pop and the screen cracks in your hand. “Shit!”

You try again to turn it on.

Nothing. 

Sans peers over at the, now, broken piece of fried out garbage that used to be your phone. “what's up?"

“My phone, I think it's broken.” You groan. “I'm probably gonna have to get a new one...”

“can I see?”

Might as well. It's not like it can get more broken. “Here.”

Sans looks over the phone, his face resembling the passive mask you had gotten familiar with at Grillbys. “dunno much about cellphones-” He looks you in the eye. “but i've got a friend that's good with tech like this. if you want i could ask them to fix it?”

Fix it? Like, for free? “Uh... yeah, okay.”

Sans pockets your phone. “i'll keep you updated. take it easy, pal.” He turns away from you and heads for the door. “and uh... thanks. for keeping our secret.”

...He's not convinced. You can tell he isn't but he's giving you the benefit of the doubt.

“You're welcome.”

With one last nod back to you, he walks towards your bedroom. Wait, what?

You walk after him feeling confused and a little alarmed but when you get around the couch he's gone.

Oh.

Shortcut.

Magic is pretty cool.

You decide to take a quick shower before getting ready for bed. You take a pill to ease your headache before falling onto the mattress with a sigh and crawl under the blanket. The feel of your mattress, the smell of your clean sheets, it's familiar and comforting. You close your eyes, welcoming sleep-

“Aw shit.”

You forgot your sweater in the Antivoid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, the reader is home. Safe, if not a little worse for wear.
> 
> And they finally know the secret.
> 
> I wanted to portray shortcuts more like they are in the game rather than just straight up teleporting. In the game sans takes frisk through shortcuts without even touching them. The screen goes black, via the usual scene transition, and you end up somewhere else entirely. Though, from the outside, it basically looks like teleporting.
> 
> Oh, and just so you know how I approach this fic, all the Sanses are older and papyri are younger.


End file.
